The Competition Bureau of Canada has obtained a Federal Court order authorizing a formal investigation into Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) pricing strategy on its Canadian e-commerce platform, Amazon.ca. The inquiry aims to determine whether the company’s policies may violate the Competition Act through possible abuse of market dominance.
At the center of the investigation is Amazon’s Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy, which allows the tech giant to penalize third-party sellers whose product prices on Amazon.ca are significantly higher than those listed on other marketplaces or on Amazon’s own platform. The Bureau is assessing whether this practice enables Amazon to impose inflated fees on sellers—costs that may ultimately be passed on to consumers.
Authorities are also exploring whether Amazon’s pricing rules restrict competition by preventing sellers from offering lower prices elsewhere online, potentially deterring rival platforms from entering or expanding in the Canadian market. Additionally, the Bureau is evaluating whether the policy may suppress price competition across digital retail channels more broadly.
The court order compels Amazon to provide documents and data relevant to the ongoing investigation. While the Bureau is actively examining the company’s conduct, it has clarified that no findings of wrongdoing have been made at this stage.