The Canadian Competition Bureau has officially expanded its investigation of the grocery sector by securing federal court orders against Empire Company Limited, the parent corporation behind major supermarket chains like Sobeys, Safeway, and IGA. These new legal directives mandate that the grocery giant hand over internal records, provide detailed written explanations, and offer oral testimony regarding its use of property controls nationwide. This escalation marks a significant broadening of an investigation that initially focused narrowly on the Halifax Regional Municipality, giving regulators a deeper look into how Empire negotiates real estate restrictions and how those actions ripple across the Canadian market.
Property controls—contractual clauses embedded in commercial real estate deals that restrict how a piece of land or retail space can be used by future tenants—are a common fixture in Canadian retail. However, antitrust regulators warn that these limits can stifle the market by preventing independent or competing grocers from opening new locations nearby. When fresh competition is locked out of a neighborhood, consumers often bear the brunt through inflated prices, fewer shopping choices, and diminished product quality. The issue has become a priority for the Bureau as it targets sectors directly impacting essential household expenses.
This latest regulatory push builds on years of mounting pressure against Canada’s dominant grocery players. A 2023 market study by the Bureau first flagged real estate restrictions as a major barrier to innovation and affordability, prompting initial court orders against both Empire and Loblaw in 2024. While the Bureau previously successfully pressured Empire to remove a restrictive property control in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, and continues to monitor Loblaw’s public pledge to phase out the practice, officials emphasize that this broader national investigation is still ongoing with no definitive conclusions of wrongdoing yet established.
