How Toronto Blue Jays tickets resell for thousands of dollars, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government could reintroduce anti-scalping legislation that had previously been repealed soon after coming to power.
“My personal opinion is I'm going to talk to the whole team: they're blowing people away,” he told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “We have one player in the market who controls the tickets, this is not suitable for people.”
Asked whether he would consider specific legislation, Ford said his government would consider that option.
Ford's comments come a day after Blue Jays World Series tickets went on sale on Ticketmaster. Less than two hours after sales began, tickets began going on sale. listed for sale at over $2,000.
On Tuesday, a single ticket in Section 135 of the Rogers Center for the first game cost $4,954. The cheapest individual ticket was found in section 510 for $1,723 including taxes.
The prices caused an uproar on social media, with many Jays fans questioning why a ticket could be purchased in minutes and potentially put back on the market for a significantly higher price than it was likely purchased for.
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Anger over resale prices is nothing new: anger flared last year during Taylor Swift's Eras tour, during which ticket prices were the same and disappointment was the same.
The Ford government previously repealed part of the law that capped ticket resale prices at 50 percent above the original face value.
A section of the previous Liberal government's Ticketing Act included this restriction, but the Progressive Conservatives suspended its implementation shortly after the 2018 election.
A year later, in 2019, it rescinded the rule, saying it was unenforceable and that it would force consumers to buy tickets on the black market and drive up prices.
The Liberals, under former premier Kathleen Wynne, initially introduced legislation to crack down on “scalper bots” that raked in huge stacks of tickets.
John Fraser, parliamentary leader of the Ontario Liberals, told reporters Wednesday that reviving anti-scalping legislation was “the right thing to do.”
“When we all stand in line and don't get tickets, and the next second we see the price is 10-12 times more expensive, it's not fair,” Fraser said.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles, asked whether the bill should be brought back, told reporters that yes, “100 per cent.”
“We asked for this when it came to the Taylor Swift concert, yes, we need the government to take action,” Styles said, adding that her party will introduce something in the legislature soon.
In his comments Wednesday, Ford said he doesn't believe one company “controls everything” and specifically named Ticketmaster.
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