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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Quebecor asked the federal government to examine Loblaw’s wireless-retail arrangement with Glentel, a joint venture owned by Rogers and Bell, arguing that it would keep Freedom Mobile out of The Mobile Shop locations in Loblaw-owned grocery stores. The dispute was about who could sell wireless service in those stores—not a merger between Loblaw and a telecom carrier. The request was reported on May 22, 2024; Quebecor announced a Competition Bureau complaint on June 12, 2024.
What was the Loblaw–Glentel arrangement?
The Mobile Shop is a wireless retailer operating in Loblaw-owned stores. The reported arrangement involved Glentel, jointly owned by Rogers and Bell, selling wireless services through The Mobile Shop. It was a retail partnership, not a sale or merger of Loblaw with Rogers or Bell.
Quebecor, which owns Freedom Mobile, said the arrangement would displace Freedom from those locations. MobileSyrup reported that The Mobile Shop characterized its share of Canadian mobile phone and plan sales as “less than five percent.” That was the retailer’s characterization, reported by MobileSyrup from CBC News—not an independently verified market-share figure.
Why did Quebecor ask the federal government to intervene?
MobileSyrup reported on May 22, 2024, that Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau had written earlier that month to then-Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Péladeau objected to a retail arrangement involving what he called “a joint venture made up of the giants.” Quebecor argued that giving Glentel a role at The Mobile Shop would limit Freedom Mobile’s access to Loblaw stores and weaken retail competition.
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Those were Quebecor’s allegations, not a legal finding that the arrangement was exclusionary or unlawful. Champagne responded that the matter belonged with the Competition Bureau, according to MobileSyrup. That referral likewise did not determine whether competition law had been breached.
What did Quebecor allege in its Competition Bureau complaint?
On June 12, 2024, Quebecor announced that it had filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau. The company alleged that the Loblaw–Glentel agreement would give Glentel exclusive selling rights at The Mobile Shop and exclude Freedom Mobile from 180 Loblaw-owned grocery stores. The 180-store figure is Quebecor’s claim; the available sources do not independently verify the count.
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In its announcement, Péladeau said: “The agreement between Loblaw and Glentel cloaks yet another attempt by the dominant players in the telecommunications market to thwart competition.” The statement expresses Quebecor’s position; it is not a Bureau conclusion.
What is established—and what is not?
- Established in the reporting: The dispute concerned wireless sales at The Mobile Shop in Loblaw-owned stores, with Glentel, a Rogers–Bell joint venture, as the reported retail partner.
- Quebecor’s position: Freedom would be excluded from 180 grocery stores and the arrangement would harm competition.
- The retailer’s position: The Mobile Shop told CBC, as reported by MobileSyrup, that it represented less than five percent of Canadian sales in mobile phones and plans.
- Not established by the available sources: Whether the Competition Bureau investigated to a final determination, what the Bureau concluded, or whether the arrangement is still operating today.
Does the earlier Glentel review settle the dispute?
No. The Competition Bureau reviewed Bell and Rogers’ acquisition of Glentel in 2015 and implemented measures described as preserving competition. That earlier review concerned the acquisition. It does not decide whether the separate Loblaw–Glentel retail arrangement reported in 2024 was anticompetitive.
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