OTTAWA — The Competition Bureau says Canadians could save billions of dollars if the country moves ahead with giving consumers more control over their data.
The bureau says in a report on data portability that a test scenario on the home insurance industry found there could be average savings of about $128 a year per household, plus a further $183 worth in time saved, for up to $3.83 billion a year in total value savings.
The savings could come if the structures were in place so that consumers could easily switch their data from one insurer to another, avoiding having to fill out forms and making it easier to shop around and switch providers.
Being able to control data could also allow Canadians to do everything from switching over their social media connections and photos from one network to another, to possibly moving an in-progress video game to another platform.
The federal government is already working toward making financial data portable through open banking, which could make it easier and safer to share information with options like budgeting apps, or eventually to switch financial accounts entirely.
The Competition Bureau says the savings can be significant, but that the initiative also creates privacy and security challenges and can be costly to implement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.
