Doug Ford reportedly hosted Rogers CEO in private at-home meeting on ticket resale law

Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri visited the home of Doug Ford earlier this year to talk about the province's new ticket reselling legislation, according to documents obtained by Global News through freedom of information requests.

The meeting took place on March 29, just days after the government introduced its 2026 budget with measures to cap ticket resale prices at face value. The measures were intended to crack down on scalping and protect consumers after Ford's government removed a cap on resale prices in 2019. Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery Steven Crawford was also in attendance at the meeting.

According to sources, the conversation centred on the potential unintended consequences for season ticket holders. Rogers, which owns major sports franchises including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, and Toronto Blue Jays, had concerns that fans who purchase bulk season packages at a discount could face hurdles reselling individual tickets to subsidize their costs.

While the Premier's Office stated that "no changes came as a result of this meeting," the law is currently facing enforcement challenges, and the government hasn't fined companies who were caught reselling tickets well above face value.

Secondary ticketing platforms like StubHub have cited difficulties in verifying the original face value of tickets without access to primary seller metadata. There's also a fear that people could use AI or Photoshop to edit the price of an original ticket. Similarly, advocates for secondary ticket sellers have called the law "messy" and are calling for the rules to be reworked.

Now, Global News reports that Ford's office instructed Crawford to prepare regulations to fix issues with the law, such as defining the face value of a ticket and ways for resellers to verify that value. But while the provincial government looks at changes, some are asking for increased transparency.

NDP MPP Tom Rakocevic was one such voice, arguing for the government to make potential changes — and who's asking for those changes — public information.

"Make this accountable, transparent, let the public know and make changes that benefit the majority of everyday fans, not just the super rich and the big corporate executives," Rakocevic said.