Business Practices Act, personalized algorithmic pricing
C.C.S.M. c. B120, ss. 1-3, 7 and 33, as amended by S.M. 2026, c. 41
In force since .
An AI sector rules rule binding private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- Director of Business Practices
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Disclosure, Consent
As of .
What it requires
- If you are an online retailer or online distributor, do not use personalized algorithmic pricing, meaning pricing that an algorithm or automated processing sets, recommends or varies for a specific consumer as a result of data about that consumer, to increase the price of goods demanded from the consumer; the Act deems that use an unfair business practice (s. 2(3)(v)).
- If you display prices with an electronic shelf labelling system, do not demand a higher price at the point of sale due to personalized algorithmic pricing in respect of that consumer (s. 2(3)(r.1)).
- Treat the use of personalized algorithmic pricing as a material fact: exaggeration, innuendo or ambiguity about it, or a failure to disclose it, is a deemed unfair business practice (ss. 2(3)(p), 2(4)).
- Where the Act conditions a higher price on the consumer's express consent, an online retailer or online distributor has that consent only if it prominently discloses the reason for the higher price in clear and understandable language and the consumer takes clear overt action to consent (ss. 2(3)(q), 2(5)).
- If you are an online retailer, online distributor or user of an electronic shelf labelling system, do not take advantage of a consumer by demanding a price higher than the price offered to other consumers because of personalized algorithmic pricing in respect of that consumer (s. 3(2)(c)).
- As an online retailer or online distributor, disclose the total price, including mandatory fees and charges, and any other material facts to the consumer in clear and understandable language and post them prominently, and make the data about the consumer that is available to you equally available to the consumer; both are factors in deciding whether a practice is unfair (s. 3(3)(c)-(d)).
- Treat the use of algorithms, data analytics, machine learning or artificial intelligence by you or a third party as capable of being an unfair business practice, whether or not a consumer transaction is entered into (s. 7(2)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
Section 33(1) makes contravention of the Act, or of a director's order, an offense, and an individual convicted of a first offense faces up to 12 months in prison as well as a fine.
Penalty structure
Section 33(1) sets the fine at not more than $100,000 for an individual and $300,000 for a corporation on a first offense, and $300,000 for an individual and $1,000,000 for a corporation on a second or later offense, with imprisonment for an individual of up to 12 months on a first offense and 36 months on a later one, and lets the court order compensation to an affected consumer.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- CAD
- Fixed cap
- 1,000,000
What this law does
The Business Practices Act applies to a supplier, which for certainty includes an online retailer and an online distributor. Personalized algorithmic pricing is pricing based on the use of an algorithm or automated processing to set, recommend or vary a price offered to a specific consumer as a result of data about the consumer.
For an online retailer or online distributor, the use of personalized algorithmic pricing to increase the price of the goods demanded from the consumer is a deemed unfair business practice. Where the price of a part of a consumer transaction is displayed by an electronic shelf labelling system, demanding a higher price at the point of sale due to personalized algorithmic pricing in respect of that consumer is a deemed unfair business practice.
The use of personalized algorithmic pricing as part of a consumer transaction is deemed to be a material fact. For an online retailer or online distributor, a consumer is deemed to give express consent to a higher price only if the supplier prominently discloses the reason for the higher price in clear and understandable language and the consumer takes clear overt action to consent.
It is also a deemed unfair business practice for such a supplier to take advantage of a consumer by demanding a price higher than the price offered to other consumers because of personalized algorithmic pricing in respect of that consumer. An unfair business practice may occur through the use of algorithms, data analytics, machine learning or artificial intelligence by the supplier or a third party.
The Director of Business Practices may order a supplier committing an unfair business practice to cease it. A consumer may commence a court action against a supplier for relief from an unfair business practice. A person who contravenes the Act is guilty of an offense and liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to $100,000 or 12 months in prison, or both, for an individual's first offense, and to a fine of up to $300,000 for a corporation's first offense. The personalized algorithmic pricing amendments came into force on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app makes high-risk automated decisions or tracks devices.