Proposed Air Canada-United deal would hurt competition, raise prices: watchdog

Posted October 28, 2026 12:22 pm.

Last Updated October 28, 2026 12:35 pm.

The country’s competition watchdog says a proposed co-operation arrangement between Air Canada and United Airlines would reduce competition and raise airfares.

Interim competition commissioner Jeanne Pratt says an expanded joint venture between the two airlines would “substantially harm” competition on 10 routes connecting major airports.

In June, Air Canada and United proposed expanding their three-decade-old partnership, including on pricing, on routes that connect Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver to seven of America’s biggest cities, including New York City, Chicago and Houston.

The commissioner says co-ordination on the 10 routes is barred under a 2012 agreement put in place after the watchdog found that a similar deal would have hurt competition.

She says Air Canada and United currently make up all non-stop traffic on half of those routes and enjoy “significant” market share on the others, while a high barrier to entry would likely cement near-monopoly conditions on several corridors.

Federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon is set to consider the Competition Bureau’s findings and decide whether to greenlight the would-be arrangement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2026.

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Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

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