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Keldon Bester

@keldonb.bsky.social
768 followers 359 following 121 posts

CAMP Exec Director, CIGI Fellow. Previously Competition Bureau and Open Markets. Hedging my bets. www.antimonopoly.ca

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Reposted by Keldon Bester
Common Wealth @cmmonwealth.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
“Essential services ... that were privatised are no longer working ... there’s a different way of organising it ... it’s not going back to the 1970s, it’s saying that a modern, dynamic economy has to fix those essentials.” @mathewlawrence.bsky.social on @lbc.co.uk 👇
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Scrutiny works: Canada's second largest grocery chain to stop using property controls following investigation and regulatory pressure. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
theglobeandmail.com
Empire to stop using some property controls after scrutiny from regulators, politicians
Sobeys parent company will stop enforcing exclusivity clauses on properties identified in a Competition Bureau court order and in Manitoba
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Ottawa is ridiculous
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Great piece from CAMP fellow Andrew Paulley on the need to differentiate surveillance pricing from the typical discounts and how we can ensure the deck isn't stacked against consumers. antimonopoly.ca/dont-fall-fo...
antimonopoly.ca
Don’t fall for the senior’s discount surveillance pricing head fake | Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
CAMP fellow Andrew Paulley lays out the case for distinguishing between surveillance pricing and the discounts Canadians know and love.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
We've got a new report out this week at CAMP on the dominance of American hyperscalers and what Canada can do about it. By treating compute like a commodity, we can ensure that massive private and public investment generates fair competition instead of lock-in. Check out the full report below
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Well at least anxiety seems to have plateaued
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
"Without far-reaching change, the government, farmers and consumers will be doomed to fight an endless battle against corporate combines. Consumers will keep paying too much, and farmers will continue to get too little." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | This Is Why Your Groceries Are So Expensive
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Reposted by Keldon Bester
Peter Nowak @peternowak.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Payouts from the Great Bread Price-Fixing Scandal have started to go out, but as @keldonb.bsky.social from the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project explains, the secretive case is ongoing and far from over:
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
This is good news. Survey data shows that 66% of farmers say consolidation in the market for equipment dealerships has a negative impact on their business. www.realagriculture.com/2026/05/deer...
realagriculture.com
Deere Manitoba dealer merger cancelled
The merger of Manitoba's two largest John Deere farm equipment dealers has been called off. Greenvalley Equipment (GVE) and Enns Brothers announced a plan to join forces in January, but GVE President ...
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Happy Bread Price Fixing Settlement Day to all Canadians who celebrate
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
One more red tape reduction and we'll be fine. I'm in Corporate Knights today talking about how it'll take more than getting government out the way to fix Canada's monopoly problem. corporateknights.com/perspectives...
corporateknights.com
Cutting red tape won’t defeat Canada’s monopolies. Here’s what will. | Corporate Knights
OPINION | Ottawa is promising a whole-of-government approach to boosting competition, but the plan doesn’t deliver
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Reposted by Keldon Bester
Jennifer Clapp 🇨🇦 @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Hyper concentrated markets bring trouble: FT reports that the recent US stock market gains (turbocharged by the conflict in the Middle East) are driven by smallest number of stocks on record (mostly Big Tech stocks) - increasing risk of a sharp drop when the bubble pops www.ft.com/content/7599...
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Competition Bureau is headed to court to challenge a potential monopoly in Canada's natural gas sector. Important first test of whether Canada's updated merger laws can block what appears to be an attempt at literal monopoly. decisions.ct-tc.gc.ca/ct-tc/cdo/en...
decisions.ct-tc.gc.ca
Keyera Corp. - Notice of application pursuant to s. 92 - Competition Tribunal
Competition Tribunal - Home
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
In text bolding is passive aggressive
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
@jamesnicholson.bsky.social and I talk grocery monopolies, private jets, Amazon, and whether my mattress is sufficiently patriotic.
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James McLeod @jamespmcleod.ca · 22/04/2026
For Earth Day, a couple of thoughts: - Cities are part of Earth - Cities are good for the environment - The more dense, the better
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Podcast ep coming out soon where we go in on why this is a disaster for about an hour.
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Reposted by Keldon Bester
Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Live Nation Illegally Monopolized Ticketing Market, Jury Finds
Live Nation Entertainment Inc. illegally monopolized live events ticketing and amphitheater markets, a New York federal jury found Wednesday, a blow to the US’s largest concert promoter.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
WOW. 80% of small businesses in Canada say addressing monopolies should be a priority for government. Unsurprising but still shocking, even to to me.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Loblaws: we build future-forward experiences that solve complex problems Also Loblaws: there is no way to determine the weight of meat ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/...
ici.radio-canada.ca
CBC investigation finds grocers Loblaw, Sobeys overcharging for underweight meat — again | RCI
Findings come 1 year after similar CBC probe found grocers selling underweight meat.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Maybe this time Will be different
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Canadians really really really don't like algorithmic pricing. 50% want it banned and the 30% that want it allowed are calling for regulation. Great to see building energy at the provincial and federal level to ensure Canadians can count on fair pricing in the marketplace.
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Reposted by Keldon Bester
The Rundown @therundowntvo.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Sports betting ads are everywhere — and the province is cashing in — but at what cost? Andrew Kim (@torontomet.bsky.social) tells @jeyantvo.bsky.social how Ontario’s online gambling shift opened the floodgates, increasing access to a potentially addictive product. At 8pm | Producer: Preeti Bhuyan
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Jennifer Clapp 🇨🇦 @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
It's not so much price controls @ retail level that we need, but rather we must tackle corporate concentration and market power by preventing big mergers and acquisitions all along food supply chains in the first place. ://www.ft.com/content/d272c711-178c-4c73-a397-5b8fac200e5f?syn-25a6b1a6=1
ft.com
Price controls make a troubling return to the mainstream
Governments should focus more on boosting supply and productivity
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Canada's Competition Bureau is currently reviewing the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Thanks to the CBC for having me on to talk about the potential of public grocery stores in Canada. The issues with competition in our food system go beyond the store shelf. We need to deal with monopolization further up the chain. www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
cbc.ca
Why city-run grocery stores may help combat rising food prices
As food prices continue to rise, one Toronto city councillor is proposing non-profit, city-run grocery stores as a possible solution. CBC’s Alejandrina Alvarez looks at how the pilot program would wor...
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Canadians know what's up. "Across the country, Canadians express a strong desire for governments to step in and set rules governing algorithmic pricing practices, with many supporting outright prohibition of certain forms of automated pricing systems." abacusdata.ca/canadians-ar...
abacusdata.ca
Canadians Are Skeptical of Algorithmic Pricing - Abacus Data
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Happy to speak to @faliceemo.bsky.social at @thehubcanada.bsky.social about the growing Americanization and monopolization of Canada's national parks. thehub.ca/2026/03/19/w...
thehub.ca
Who controls Banff? Inside the decade-long battle over rail, gondolas, and the ‘Americanization’ of Canada’s national parks
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Moving rapidly from worrying that videos are AI to hoping videos are AI
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Reposted by Keldon Bester
Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
In non-Ticketmaster news, last night a group of state attorneys general sued to block Nexstar from acquiring Tegna, a merger between the two largest television broadcasters. oag.ca.gov/news/press-r...
oag.ca.gov
Attorney General Bonta Files Lawsuit Seeking to Block $6.2 Billion Nexstar/Tegna Broadcasting Merger
Merger would create a media giant covering 80% of U.S. television households OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside a coalition of eight attorneys general, filed a lawsuit to...
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Armine Yalnizyan @armineyalnizyan.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Today's greatest inflationary pressures over the past year: Groceries, rental housing, out of pocket purchases of healthcare services. Electricity inflation has risen the fastest since November (year over year inflation) From www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/c...
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Right now Manitoba is the only province in Canada that understands we can have a say over what goes into the prices we see on store shelves. news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.h...
news.gov.mb.ca
Province of Manitoba | News Releases | Manitoba Government Ending Predatory Pricing in Grocery Stores and Other Retail
Province of Manitoba
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VassB @vassb.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Holy sh*t. Wab Kinew's government just made using data to increase prices an unfair business practice. This is historic for Canada. *Proposed bill bans suppliers from charging higher prices to certain consumers based on personalized or algorithmically determined information. t.co/ZugFOj7983
t.co
https://bit.ly/4rBlsew
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The Canadian Shield Institute @canadianshieldinstitute.ca · 12/03/2026
"As U.S. state and Big Tech become one, we become digital serfs, and it sucks" By Canadian Shield Institute Managing Director @vassb.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
When you talk like this, you're a monopoly
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Good grief.
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Reposted by Keldon Bester
The Wire Report @thewirereport.ca · 05/03/2026
The Competition Tribunal has canned Google’s Charter appeal, allowing a lawsuit based on the company’s alleged anti-competitive conduct to proceed, saying it failed to meet the “indisputably high bar” of the true penal consequence test. www.thewirereport.ca/2026/03/05/c...
thewirereport.ca
Competition Tribunal scraps Google’s Charter appeal, says it does not pass ‘true penal consequence’ test - The Wire Report
The Charter appeal was filed in February 2025, when Google responded to the Competition Bureau’s 2024 lawsuit alleging it engaged in anti-competitive conduct in the online advertising market.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
I am hearing that Paramount-Warner Bros is both pro-competitive and pro-consumer
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Big news in Canadian competition policy today as the Competition Tribunal rejects Google's argument that new monetary penalties are unconstitutional. antimonopoly.ca/canadas-comp...
antimonopoly.ca
Competition Case Against Google Moves Forward | Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
CAMP statement in response to Competition Tribunal's rejection of Google's constitutional challenge in online advertising case.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
"This proposed regime could obsess over market centralization and predatory business practices... take aim at monopolists like Ticketmaster, responsible for jacking up concert prices... aggressively block mergers in already-uncompetitive industries." www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
thestar.com
Justin Ling: From flights to cell phone bills, Canadians get a raw deal. This is why — and how Mark Carney can fix it
Protectionism and a lack of competition are making life expensive for Canadians.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
For @techpolicypress.bsky.social this week I wrote about how Canada's tech accountability efforts should be squarely focused on protecting Canadian sovereignty in an unstable geopolitical environment. www.techpolicy.press/a-tech-antim...
techpolicy.press
A Tech Anti-Monopoly and Accountability Agenda for Canada | TechPolicy.Press
Amid a shifting relationship with the US and new geopolitical realities, Keldon Bester urges Canada to rethink its tech policy to defend national sovereignty.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Canada's Competition Bureau recognizes that our airline market is not delivering for Canadians. CAMP was glad to see our recommendations echoed by the Bureau, but know that there is more work to be done to fix flying in Canada. antimonopoly.ca/statement-ca...
antimonopoly.ca
Statement | Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project welcomes final report of Competition Bureau airline market study - Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
In the final report of its market study, Canada's Competition Bureau recognizes that the airline market is not delivering for Canadians.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Monopoly isn't just a tax on everyday Canadians, it's a threat to the future of our independence. We need to tackle both problems if we want to create a strong and free Canada. www.corporateknights.com/leadership/m...
corporateknights.com
The other sovereignty threat to Canada
Monopolies and oligopolies cost Canadians tens of billions every year. They also undermine our national independence.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
In an unstable geopolitical environment, Canada's digital infrastructure is in the hands of just a few American companies. In a new CAMP discussion paper, we ask the question what a new path forward should look like. antimonopoly.ca/discussion-p...
antimonopoly.ca
Discussion Paper | Confronting Canada's Gatekeeper Crisis - Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
In a volatile geopolitical environment, Canada's dependence on a handful of American firms has become an acute risk to the future of our sovereignty.
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Keldon Bester @keldonb.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Had a great time talking with Harrison about Canada's monopoly challenge in a changing world and the work we're doing at CAMP
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Aaron Binder @aaronbinder.com · 09/06/2025
Who won't delivery apps screw in the pursuit of profit? Drivers, restaurants & customers all deal with the fallout of exploitative wages, unclear fees, and drip pricing. Competition fairness rockstar @keldonb.bsky.social explains in this piece. @jennabench.bsky.social | www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
A close-up photograph of a red DoorDash delivery sticker prominently displayed on what appears to be a restaurant window or door. The sticker features the iconic DoorDash logo (a stylized "D" with motion lines) and reads "We deliver with DOORDASH" in white text on a bright red background. The image is taken with shallow depth of field, keeping the DoorDash sticker in sharp focus while the background shows blurred restaurant signage and storefront elements. This photo accompanies a CBC News article about the Competition Bureau suing DoorDash over allegedly misleading price promotions, with the company denying the claims and stating it will defend itself. The image effectively illustrates the ubiquity of DoorDash's presence in the Canadian food delivery market that is now facing regulatory scrutiny.
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Open Markets Institute @openmarkets.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
TODAY at 10:30 AM ET: Join Capitol Forum & Sandeep Vaheesan 👇
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Tom Goldsmith @tomgoldsmith.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
I had a great time chatting to @laurentdcar.bsky.social about his new book "At the Trough: The Rise and Rise of Canada's Corporate Welfare Bums" for the Deep Dives newsletter. We covered a lot of interesting ground. Do check it out! open.substack.com/pub/orbitpol...
open.substack.com
"At the Trough": Laurent Carbonneau on Fixing Canada's Flawed Economic Policy
An interview on why our public services are deteriorating while businesses thrive and how we get better outcomes for Canada.
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