Oct 19, 2026
Picture this: you find two seats for a comedy show online, check the price, grab the seats and head to checkout. By the time you pay, the total is higher than the number that caught your eye. For a lot of Canadians, that annoying experience has a specific name: drip pricing.
A new Federal Court decision suggests not every extra fee counts as illegal drip pricing. In a proposed class action against Ticketmaster, the court ruled that hiding mandatory fees until checkout doesn’t actually violate federal law. That holds as long as every charge appears on the same screen, at the same time, as the price.
Advertisement
That fine print changes what you can actually complain about next time you buy tickets for a concert, game or show. It also explains why some fee complaints win big while others go nowhere.
Thanks for subscribing!
The best of Money.ca delivered weekly.
By signing up, you accept Money.ca Terms of Use, Subscription Agreement, and Privacy Policy.
What did the court decide about Ticketmaster’s fees?
On Sept. 22, 2026, Justice Gascon of the Federal Court declined to certify the proposed class action in Kuling v. Ticketmaster. National law firm Bennett Jones reported the court found two core elements of drip pricing missing: concealment and sequence.
The plaintiff purchased two tickets originally priced at $74.50 each, bringing her total bill to $190. By the time of the hearing, her lawsuit focused strictly on a single $2.50 order processing fee. The fee was clearly bolded right above the price tag — no scrolling required.
When every component shows up at once, the court reasoned, nothing is hidden and nothing is “added” later. It noted that “ordinary purchasers are capable of basic arithmetic.”
The court also ruled that federal law doesn’t force sellers to show one single all-in price. Parliament could have written that rule into the Competition Act when it amended the law in 2022, and chose not to.
How is this different from the $38.9 million Cineplex case?
The key issue is where and when the fee is displayed. Canada’s deceptive marketing laws are enforced by the Competition Bureau, an independent federal agency. In 2024, it won its case against Cineplex over a mandatory $1.50 online booking fee. The Competition Tribunal ordered Cineplex to pay over $38.9 million in penalties, wiping out the exact amount the company generated from the fee between June 2022 and December 2023.
That fee sat below the fold, hidden unless buyers scrolled or clicked. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the ruling in January 2026.
The Bureau still has drip pricing cases before the Competition Tribunal against Canada’s Wonderland and DoorDash. Both companies dispute the allegations.
Advertisement
This new ruling could make things a lot harder for the Bureau’s bigger argument. Law firm Cassels noted that the plaintiff’s rejected position mirrors the Bureau’s own stance on split pricing. Still, Kuling is a single Federal Court decision. In its analysis, Gowling cautions that a different layout, a smaller font or one extra click could tip the analysis the other way.
Does your province require an all-in price?
It might, but federal rulings don’t cancel out stricter provincial or industry rules.
In Ontario, event tickets are governed by the province’s 2017 Ticket Sales Act. It requires sellers to show the total ticket price in Canadian dollars, including an itemized list of fees, service charges and taxes. According to the Gowling analysis, Quebec’s ticket sales rules and federal airfare rules also require a total price.
Outside of those specific markets, you rely on federal drip pricing rules for protection. Under federal law, fees are legal provided they’re clearly visible right away.
What to do now
A legal fee isn’t an unavoidable one. Before you buy:
- Judge the deal by the final total at checkout, not the initial headline price
- Scan the entire first screen, including above and below the price, for fee notices
- Shop around using the final total — lower upfront prices often hide higher fees
- Document each stage of checkout with screenshots if extra fees only show up after you click, scroll, or add tickets to your cart
- Report suspected drip pricing through the Competition Bureau’s online complaint form
- For Ontario events, contact Consumer Protection Ontario at [email protected]
The useful question is no longer “is this fee fair?” but “did I see it before I committed?” If the answer is no, you may have a case.
You May Also Like
- This 7-step plan from Dave Ramsey is designed to help you ditch debt, save more and build wealth — here’s how it works
- Prioritize these 4 critical investments and watch your net worth skyrocket
- Here are 8 solid money moves that could free up real cash every month — here's where to start
- Millionaires under 43 are reshaping investing — just 25% of their portfolios are in stocks. Here’s where their money is going
The most expensive financial mistakes are often the ones you don't see coming. Join 19,000+ Canadians who get the money moves, risks and opportunities shaping their finances — delivered free each week. Subscribe now.
Amy Tokic is an SEO content editor for Money.ca. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Windsor. Amy is an award-winning author and has been writing professionally for 15 years, publishing articles in the lifestyle and health sectors.
