A timeline of events in the bread price-fixing scandal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/12/2025 (300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadians have until Friday to submit an online claim for a slice of the $500 million class-action lawsuit that accused Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. of engaging in an industry-wide scheme to fix the price of bread.

The settlement put an end to a years-long saga that lobbed allegations at the country’s biggest grocers, including Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger.

Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case. 

Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.

Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anticompetitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing. 

Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016. 

Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).

Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies. 

June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation. 

Oct. 25, 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anticompetitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”

Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations. 

July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier. 

Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims. 

Sept. 19, 2024: A hearing is held as part of the Ontario class action to determine whether Maple Leaf should be added as a defendant in the lawsuit, with the plaintiffs citing additional evidence as a result of Canada Bread’s guilty plea. The day before, Maple Leaf asserted its innocence in a statement. 

Oct. 10, 2024: An Ontario Superior Court judge dismisses the attempt to add Maple Leaf Foods to the class-action lawsuit.

Nov. 22, 2024: Maple Leaf launches a lawsuit against Canada Bread and its parent Grupo Bimbo for defamation, saying allegations that the company was aware of or played a role in the alleged conspiracy are unfounded.

Nov. 28, 2024: Grupo Bimbo sues Maple Leaf Foods for more than $2 billion. Grupo Bimbo’s suit argues that Maple Leaf caused Canada Bread to engage in the alleged conspiracy and deliberately withheld knowledge of it from Grupo Bimbo during the sales process.

Jan. 31, 2025: Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. settle their involvement in the class-action lawsuits in Ontario and Quebec. It is still subject to court approval in those provinces.

May 7, 2025: Ontario Superior Court Judge Ed Morgan approves the $500-million settlement in the case. The settlement includes a combined $404 million to be paid by Loblaw and George Weston. The remaining $96 million is accounted for through a gift card program Loblaw began in 2018 and ran through 2019.

July 23, 2025: The Superior Court of Quebec approves the settlement agreement in the case.

Sept. 11, 2025: The online claims process to get a slice of the $500 million class-action payout opens for Canadian shoppers who bought packaged bread between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2025.

Companies in this story: (TSX: L, TSX: MFI, TSX: MRU, TSX: EMP. A, TSX: WN)