Manitoba targets 'price discrimination' as grocery stores use 'differential pricing' to charge consumers disparate costs for goods

Manitoba’s NDP government is weighing new restrictions on grocery pricing, including a crackdown on so-called “differential pricing” and possible expanded controls on milk, as the province continues to grapple with rising costs and stubborn inflation.

Premier Wab Kinew said the province is examining practices where consumers are charged different prices for the same grocery items, sometimes based on data collected online.

"An online grocery seller might charge people different prices based on their demographic information that have been tracked online," Kinew said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press.

Kinew pointed to third-party delivery platforms as a concern. “Third-party apps are definitely one example that we’ve seen,” he said. “Third-party delivery apps can charge people different prices based on what they know about you as an online consumer. And we just want to see fairness, and we want to see better prices.” He did not cite specific Manitoba cases.

The issue has drawn attention in the America, where a recent Consumer Reports investigation alleged that Instacart charged different prices to customers shopping at the same store. Instacart has said it does not control base pricing, arguing that retailers sometimes test prices to gauge consumer sensitivity.

The Retail Council of Canada pushed back on claims of uneven pricing. “While prices can vary based on membership programs or the quantities purchased, they are consistently available to all customers at the same time,” wrote John Graham, the council’s Prairie regional director.

Beyond groceries, the Manitoba government is also reviewing milk pricing rules. The province currently sets wholesale milk prices and caps retail prices, but the cap only applies to one-litre containers. “It is an area that we’re looking at,” Kinew said, adding the province must balance affordability with the financial viability of dairy producers.

The moves come as Manitoba posts the highest inflation rate among provinces, according to Statistics Canada’s November data, driven in part by transportation costs and property taxes. Food inflation has remained a pressure point, even after earlier measures like the temporary fuel tax suspension failed to deliver sustained relief.

Kinew’s government has already passed legislation aimed at boosting grocery competition by banning property agreements that block new stores from opening near existing one s. Additional steps are expected following a grocery pricing study promised in November’s throne speech.

Kinew said he is not planning an early election. “I can say 2026 is not going to be an election year,” he said. “We’ve got a full docket of bills, and we’ve got a lot of heavy lifting with the budget.”

Kinew also confirmed Manitoba will keep its ban on US alcohol products at government-run liquor stores, a policy introduced in response to American tariffs. “We plan to maintain this, of course, until the Trump tariffs get removed,” he said. “I would want us to get something in return.”