10,000+ ONTARIANS TELL PREMIER FORD: "DON'T FUMBLE OUR TICKETS" BY ENACTING PRICE CAPS

Toronto Sun Cover Wrap Screams: "DON'T FUMBLE OUR TIX, PREMIER" -- With Referees Descending on Queens Park to Hand Out Papers and Red Cards

Grassroots Campaign Urges Premier to Drop Ticket Resale Price Cap Proposal From Provincial Budget Bill, Which is Set to Advance This Week with No Debate

TORONTO, April 23, 2026 /CNW/ - The Sports Fans Coalition (SFC), a consumer advocacy organization representing sports fans across North America, today announced that 10,000+ Ontario fans have contacted Premier Doug Ford's office and their MPPs, urging them to cut ticket resale price caps from the provincial budget bill, which is set to advance this week without any hearings or debate. The grassroots fan effort comes as Premier Ford's government has proposed reimposing ticket resale price caps--the same policy his government repealed in 2019 after calling it "unenforceable." Fans are calling on the Premier to apply that same judgment now, before it is too late.

"Over 10,000 Ontarians have taken action, throwing a penalty flag on the Government's ticket price cap proposal. As the Premier pushes this legislation through without any public conversation, we are making sure that fan voices are heard loud and clear, imploring Premier Ford: don't fumble our tickets by passing price caps," said Brian Hess, Executive Director of the Sports Fans Coalition. "Today, Ontario fans took over the front page of the Toronto Sun--and to make sure the Premier, his fellow MPPs, and staff members heard the message, referees with red cards in hand descended on Queens Park to pass out copies of the Sun. Our message is clear: price caps hurt fans."

Fans Are Saving Money When Tickets are Resold -- Price Caps Would End Those Deals and Give Ticketmaster Free Rein to Increase Prices

An analysis by SFC shows Toronto fans regularly use ticket resale marketplaces to get tickets at a discount. Price caps would hurt Ontarians by undermining these platforms, which make it easier and cheaper for fans to attend games

Across the city's four major professional sports teams, fans saved more than $10 million between 2021 and 2025 by purchasing tickets at a discount on resale platforms. Nearly 43% of all Blue Jays resale tickets were sold below face value -- meaning resale undercuts Ticketmaster's initial prices nearly half of the time. Of the more than 300,000 tickets resold at a discount in Toronto, Maple Leafs fans saved an average of $78.72 per ticket, while Blue Jays fans saved $25.77 per ticket.

Price caps specifically target the resale marketplaces that fans turn to for discounted tickets, while completely ignoring Ticketmaster. This policy could eliminate the savings fans get when tickets are resold, but would allow Ticketmaster--which was just found guilty of running an illegal monopoly in the US--to keep raising ticket prices without any oversight.

A recent Leger poll found 85% of Ontarians believe they should have the right to resell a ticket they've purchased, and 53% believe they should be able to set their own resale price.

"Ontario's ticket resale price caps are straight out of Ticketmaster's playbook," Hess said. "When you tell fans they can't independently resell tickets, we end up more dependent on Ticketmaster. That's not consumer protection. That's monopoly protection."

Ford Said This Policy was Unenforceable and Lead to Fraud -- He Was Right

In 2019, Premier Ford's government repealed Ontario's previous resale price cap, saying it was "unenforceable" and lead to ticket fraud. The data confirms areas with resale price caps experience ticket fraud rates four times higher than areas without them. Fraud increases because price caps can't control fans' desire to see their team play--so they turn to unregulated channels like social media or the street corner outside the stadium gates, where scammers operate freely.

"Fans don't disappear when you cap prices--they just turn to less safe options to buy tickets," Hess continued. "If Ontario's price caps move forward, fans will buy tickets on social media or through parking lot handoffs with zero consumer protections. When something goes wrong, they'll only have the Ontario Government to blame. Premier Ford was right in 2019: the facts haven't changed--the politics have."

Sports Fans Coalition is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the rights and interests of sports fans. Learn more at ca.sportsfancoalition.org and www.sportsfans.org

SOURCE Sports Fan Coalition

Brian Hess, [email protected]