Ottawa’s new surveillance pricing rules not likely to take effect before 2028

At a press conference, Solomon said one of his first acts once the bill passes will be to direct the new online safety and privacy regulator to issue guidance on what counts as surveillance pricing.

He said in the interview Canadians will then be able to file complaints based on that guidance, which will state what’s allowed and what’s not allowed under the privacy legislation.

“If you don’t comply with that, you’ll be in contravention of the act, and the commission has the full authority to enforce it,” he said.

But government officials have said they expect it will take 18 months to get the new regulatory body in place.

The Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission of Canada would also be responsible for the proposed digital safety legislation, C-34, which would force social media platforms to block access for kids under 16 and regulate chatbots.

That regulator will be able to issue binding orders to organizations and levy fines — powers the current privacy commissioner does not have and has been requesting for years.

An Abacus Data poll reported this spring that most Canadians want the government to ban or regulate the use of algorithms to set prices. It defined algorithmic pricing as the adjustment of prices in real time based on such factors as who is buying, the time of day and browsing behaviour.

Algorithmic pricing can lead to a retailer charging different prices for products online, depending on what it can glean about a shopper’s habits.

Solomon defined surveillance pricing as when “your behaviour or location or even your inferred characteristics are used to basically give prices that are unfair or inappropriate to you.”

He said the new privacy bill is “pretty explicit that if in collecting information, the harms outweigh the benefits, then it will contravene the act.”

That means people who collect reward points to get discounts won’t be affected.

“We’re not going outlaw people who say, ‘Hey, I do get a discount because I’m a loyal shopper,'” Solomon said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2026.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Ottawa’s new surveillance pricing rules not likely to take effect before 2028

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