Canada drip pricing after the Ticketmaster ruling (and why Quebec is different)
Last reviewed 17 Oct 2026. Draft pending legal review. This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and have exceptions; check your own situation with a lawyer.
In short: A fee revealed only at checkout is still the risk case federally. In Quebec, the advertised price must already include every fee.
The federal rule
Since June 2022, the Competition Act treats drip pricing as a deceptive marketing practice (civil: section 74.01(1.1); criminal: section 52(1.3)). Drip pricing means showing a price that can't actually be paid because fixed, mandatory charges are added on top. Only charges imposed by a government, such as sales taxes, may be added to the advertised price.
The Competition Bureau has brought drip-pricing cases against well-known businesses, including an online booking fee charged by a movie-theatre chain.
What changed with the Ticketmaster ruling
In Kuling v. Ticketmaster (2026 FC 1185), the Federal Court read the federal rule as not requiring one all-in price. On that reading, a fee shown clearly next to the price from the very first display may be lawful federally. A fee that appears only later, at checkout, is still the risk case.
- The decision may be appealed, and later cases may read the law differently.
- The simplest way to stay safe everywhere in Canada is still one all-in price.
Quebec is stricter
Quebec's Consumer Protection Act (section 224(c)) says the advertised price must already include every fee, except QST, GST and amounts collected for a public authority. Showing a fee separately, even from the start, is not enough in Quebec. Consumers can sue, and Quebec courts can award punitive damages. Quebec also has French-language requirements for commercial websites and documents.
Checklist for businesses selling in Canada
- Does the first price shown include every mandatory fee? If yes, you meet both the federal and the Quebec rule.
- If a fee is shown separately: is it visible from the very first price display, not added at checkout?
- Do you sell to customers in Quebec? Then separate fees are not enough; include them in the price.
- Is anything labelled as a tax actually a government tax?
- Check again after your booking or ticketing system changes, and keep dated records.
Check your own checkout
We walk your checkout like a customer, from the first price to the total before payment, and show you the fees that were not in the first price, with dated screenshots reviewed by a person. Not yet available for businesses in Quebec.
Sources
- Competition Bureau Canada, Drip pricing
- Bennett Jones (Oct 2026), Federal Court interprets drip pricing
- Quebec, Consumer Protection Act (CQLR c. P-40.1); Lavery, Make sure your prices are accurate