Loblaw and its parent company, Weston, agreed to resolve the part in class action lawsuits in Quebec and Ontario involving the overcharges on packaged breads across the country from 2001 to 2021. The class action is on behalf of all Canadians claiming the defendants’ unlawful activities regarding the packaged bread prices.
Loblaw/Weston has agreed to resolve the settlement with a $500 million settlement fund. The pre-approval notice is released, and the settlement awaits final approval from the court. The claim process of this settlement is yet to be activated, so the deadline to claim the settlement is still not out.
However, the class members who wish to opt out of this settlement can submit the form before 25 April 2025 (Ontario) and 30 May 2025 (Quebec). The class members who wish to participate in the settlement can sign up on the official website to stay informed about the settlement.
| Settlement | Canada Packaged Bread Class Actions Settlement |
| Settlement Fund | $500 million ($96 million is already paid under the Loblaw Card program) |
| Who qualifies? | People who purchased the packaged bread during the class period |
| Class Period | 01 January 2001 to 31 December 2021 |
| Claim Date | Yet to be announced |
| Opt-out date | 05 May 2025 (Ontario), 16 June 2025 (Quebec) |
| Final Approval Hearing | 05 May 2025 (Ontario)16 June 2025 (Quebec) |
| Settlement Payout | Minimum payment threshold $5 |
| Official Website | https://www.canadianbreadsettlement.ca/ |
Who will receive it?
According to the Canadian Bread settlement agreement executed on 31 January 2025, the Canadians who meet the following eligibility requirements will be the class members of the settlement:
- All of the Canadians, except Quebec, as of 31 December 2021, who have purchased the packaged bread directly or indirectly between 01 January 2001 and 31 December 2021, distributed or produced by the defendant.
Exclusion:
- The defendants, their subsidiaries, successors, officers, employees, and other related parties are excluded from the settlement.
- People who filled out the opt-out form before the deadline of 25 April 2025 will be excluded from the settlement.
What’s the lawsuit about?
The settlement involves Loblaw Companies Ltd., Weston Foods (Canada) Inc., Loblaws Inc., George Weston Ltd., Weston Bakers Ltd., and Weston Food Distribution, collectively called Loblaw/Weston. The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of all Canadians claiming that the retailers and manufacturers had industry-wide schemes for price fixing of the packaged bread products.
The packaged breads include all products produced by the manufacturers. The defendants had previously participated in the alleged scheme investigated by the Competition Bureau in 2016. The investigations say the companies investigated were involved in increasing the price of packaged bread by $1.50 between 2001 and 2015.
Only Loblaw/ Weston has agreed to the settlement and will compensate the class members. Canada Bread, Sobeys Capital Incorporated, Sobeys Inc., Sobeys Quebec, Wal-Mart Canada, Metro Inc., and Giant Tiger Stores Ltd. are also involved in the conspiracy.
Settlement Payout
The Loblaw/ Weston has agreed to pay $500 million to settle the class action lawsuit, where $96 million was already paid for the Loblaw card program. The remaining $404 million fund will be allocated 78% for Ontario and 22% for Quebec based on population.
The funds will be further allocated between the Consumer fund (99.5%) and the other Purchaser fund (0.5%), such as businesses that resell the packaged bread of the defendants. As per the Ontario settlement, the fund will first be used to cover the administration cost, attorney fees & costs (around $74,100,000), service awards for the class representatives, and other expenses.
The Canadian Bread settlement will be distributed based on the distribution proposal, and according to the proposal, it contains $5 as the minimum payment threshold for the compensation distribution. The payout for each claimant depends on many factors, such as their purchased packaged bread, living in Ontario or Quebec, and others.
How does the claim work?
The court has yet to grant the final approval for the Canadian Bread settlement and set the claim process for the eligible consumers. Once the approval is finalized, the class members can submit their claims online through the official website or by mail.
The settlement class members who have any questions about the Canadian bread settlement can email their queries to bread@verticalglobal.com. The consumers who paid more for the defendant-produced packaged bread can sign in on the official website and click the stay informed option to get updates on the settlement.
You can claim the settlement whenever the claim process begins after the approval, and receive the compensation. The payout can be processed after 90 or 180 days of the settlement approval.
The Canadian Bread settlement pre-approval notice is out, class members who wish to opt out can submit the form, and class members who wish to participate should stay tuned to submit the claim once it begins.
Why don’t they give it to charities instead of sending $2 to $5 credit to every canadian .
It would really make a difference for food banks and other charities!
I figured that for the amount of bread I have bought in that period of time they would owe me a difference of $600 So there little credit of $5 is a slap in the face.
That is an absolute fantastic idea!!! Everyone is struggling, but $5 in my pocket won’t do much at all. The need for food banks have increased drastically with no slowing down in sight. That would be the best use of that money, for sure!!
Don’t waste the money processing payments to citizens. Give it to food banks.