Raptors Fans Angered After Seeing Cancelled Tickets Re-Listed for Sale
Some Toronto sports fans are upset this week, having seen their tickets to upcoming games cancelled by team officials, only to later see them listed for sale by the team – at vastly inflated prices. The situation has arisen for many teams north of the border, where provincial officials... Read more
Ontario, Quebec Reduce Capacity for Indoor Events to 50 Percent
Canada’s two most populous provinces announced they were reducing capacity on indoor events to 50 percent beginning Saturday, December 18. Ontario officials announced the changes Wednesday and Quebec Thursday, which impact all venues with a capacity for more than 1,000. The decision, taken as COVID concerns rise amid a... Read more
Oak View Group Expands to Canada With Hamilton, Ontario Project
Oak View Group is taking on its first project north of the border, having signed a deal with the Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG). The deal will involve OVG helping redevelop the Hamilton, Ontario Arts & Entertainment District, which includes the FirstOntario Centre Arena. According to a press... Read more
Vivid Seats Lobbyists Set Up In Canada Battle Over Fair Ticketing
Secondary ticketing site Vivid Seats is lobbying the federal government in Canada over fair ticketing practices. StrategyCorp’s three lobbyists, Troy Sherman, Brian Teefy, and John Duffy, registered on behalf of Chicago-based Vivid Seats last week, and are set to target Canadian Heritage, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the... Read more
Ontario Scraps Ticket Resale Price Caps, Adds Transparency Requirements
The conservative government in Ontario has scrapped a proposed price cap on ticket resale in the province, officially killing the provision of the Ticket Sales Act it had put on pause upon its election last summer. The government said in its new budget that the price cap – proposed... Read more
Ontario Resale Price Cap Put On Hold by New Government
The newly elected Progressive Conservative government in Ontario put a last-minute halt on the implementation of key provisions of the updates to ticketing law in the province passed last year by the liberal leadership in power at the time. The cap, which would have kicked in at 50% above... Read more
Critics Call Upcoming Ontario Resale Law Changes “Toothless”
With less than two months before new laws related to ticket resale in Ontario go into effect, industry leaders on both the primary and secondary ticketing side are pulling no punches on their assessment of the potential impact the changes will have on the landscape in the Canadian province.... Read more
StubHub Responds to Ontario’s New Ticket Resale Law
After months of back-and-forth between Canadian lawmakers and ticket industry leaders, The Candian Press announced today that Ontario passed the Ticket Sales Act. The new law makes it illegal to use bot software or knowingly resell tickets purchased via bot software, bans tickets from being resold at more than... Read more
Ontario Abandons Ticketing Transparency Under Industry Pressure
In a stunning shift, Ontario legislators removed a key consumer protection measure from its updates to ticketing laws in the Canadian province. According to The Globe and Mail, Liberal leadership in the province plans to introduce an amendment to remove a transparency provision that would remove requirements for ticket... Read more
Opinion: Legislation Against Resale Causes More Problems Than It Solves
by Marni Soupcoff This post originally appeared on CBC.ca’s opinion section. In a recent interview with the Toronto Star, Ontario New Democrat MPP Jennifer French articulated the attitude that spawned new Ontario anti-resale legislation banning ticket bots: “Ontarians want fair and affordable access to entertainment,” she said, “so the... Read more