business

Sobeys parent agrees to curb property controls that limited grocery rivals

Empire will restrict clauses that blocked competitors or limited food sales near its stores.

The Canadian

Business

September 24, 2026

5 min read

Commercial market boards and a busy retail economy

Empire Company, the owner of Sobeys, Safeway, Farm Boy, FreshCo, and IGA, has reached an agreement with the Competition Bureau over its use of restrictive property controls in the grocery sector.

The clauses can prevent another grocer from opening near an existing store or limit the food products that neighbouring tenants may sell. Under the agreement, Empire must sharply limit or stop enforcing controls that the regulator concluded were anti-competitive.

The settlement follows a Competition Bureau investigation launched in 2024 into the use of property controls by major grocery chains. Loblaw had already made separate commitments to reduce the practice.

The case sits inside a wider federal effort to address grocery concentration and high food prices. Removing contractual barriers does not create new competitors on its own, but it can make suitable retail locations more accessible to independent and expanding chains.

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