In Gifford v. Air Canada, 2025 ONSC 3335, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice denied certification to a proposed class proceeding which alleged a supply-suppression conspiracy among several airlines to lessen the supply of cross-border air travel between the United States and Canada.
Gifford provides several important takeaways concerning certification motions in proposed competition class actions. Above all, Gifford is a reminder that proposed competition class actions are liable to be denied certification if they do not properly take into account the dynamics of the Canadian market and the economic complexities associated with an allegedly cartelized product.