Canadian union wants federal scrutiny of EA sale over national security risks

The logo for Electronic Arts is displayed during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles on June 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

TORONTO — A Canadian union wants federal scrutiny of a takeover of one of the world’s biggest video game makers by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and a private equity firm owned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

The Communications Workers of America Canada says the federal government should investigate the deal because national security and jobs will be at risk if the consortium of buyers including the Public Investment Fund, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners and fellow private equity firm Silver Lake are allowed to buy Electronic Arts Inc. 

The American company has had a footprint in Canada since at least 1991, when it swallowed Distinctive Software, a Burnaby, B.C.-based video game developer. EA now boasts five offices in the country that have contributed significantly to the company’s hit soccer and hockey games and Canada’s broader $5.1 billion video game industry.

CWA Canada says EA’s sale threatens that all and couldn’t come at a worse time. EA rival Ubisoft recently laid off employees in Canada and competitor Activision Blizzard was gobbled up by Microsoft, putting everyone left in the sector on edge. 

“Our concern is for the industry, because what happens here is going to affect everybody in that industry,” said CWA Canada president Carmel Smyth.

She represents hundreds of video game industry workers in Canada, though none are employed by EA, and said the CWA’s U.S. arm supports thousands.

If the EA deal moves forward, she worries competition across the broader industry will be stifled, potentially causing job losses.

“There’s no way that ... people who work in the industry won’t be affected over the long term when a company this size will come in, crush the competition and redesign the industry,” Smyth said.

“That’s what people fear is going to happen.”

EA, which is one of the most prominent video game makers in the world with about US$7.5 billion in revenue last year and a portfolio including “EA Sports FC,” “Madden NFL,” and “The Sims,” did not respond to a request for comment about CWA Canada’s concerns. 

An FAQ the company circulated to staff last year answered a question about whether its sale would lead to layoffs by saying, “there will be no immediate changes to your job, team, or daily work, as a result of this transaction.”

The Saudi sovereign fund, which already has a minority investment in EA and its rival Nintendo, did not reply to a request for comment. Neither did Affinity nor Silver Lake. 

When the consortium announced the US$55 billion deal last September, it said the transaction already had approval from EA’s board of directors but still need assent from shareholders and regulators. It isn’t expected to close until the first quarter of EA’s fiscal 2027, which wraps at the end of June.

Concerned about what the transaction will mean for North America, CWA Canada decided to use the window before the deal is expected to close to take action. (CWA Canada is also the parent union of the Canadian Media Guild, which represents some workers at The Canadian Press.)

The union wrote to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly on Tuesday and the Competition Bureau in December, asking for the transaction to be reviewed under the Investment Canada Act and Competition Act.

The Investment Act regulates foreign investments in Canada and allows the government to review transactions to ensure they do not harm national security.

The Competition Act gives the Competition Bureau the power to investigate mergers and other business conduct to ensure companies do not impede innovation or the consumer benefits competition brings.

The note to Joly raises concerns that the deal could undermine Canada’s economic security by closely integrating EA with a foreign state that would be handed sensitive personal information on millions of Canadians that it could exploit.

“Financial information, health information, all kinds of data is collected and can be shared and used without game users’ knowledge or permission or consent,” Smyth said.

“We’re equally concerned because it’s Saudi Arabia,” she said, noting the country does not necessarily have “the kind of regulation, accountability and transparency that we might expect in Canada.”

Cheyenne Daly, a spokesperson for Joly, said the government cannot comment on the matter “due to the confidentiality provisions of the Investment Canada Act.” 

The Competition Bureau’s website shows it started reviewing the merger in November 2025 and wrapped the process at the end of March. 

After a review, the bureau usually reaches one of a few outcomes: it determines no action is necessary or it reaches an agreement where the merger parties agree to divest assets or change their plans to maintain competition.

In the case of EA, the outcome is listed as “other.”

Georgia Simone Fakiolas, a Competition Bureau spokesperson, said “other” means none of the typical outcomes apply in this situation. 

“As the bureau is required by law to conduct its work confidentially, I am unable to provide further details regarding this review,” Simone Fakiolas said in an email.

The union’s letter to the bureau warned the acquisition of EA could result in the company expanding in Saudi Arabia and contracting in Canada.

Smyth told the bureau she is particularly worried about Canadian jobs because the sale is being financed with US$20 billion in debt and analysts have suggested layoffs “are one of the key ways the company will seek to cut costs in order to service its massive debt.”

“The pressure to make that money back ... means they’re going to have to gut studios. They’re going to have to buy up the competition, merge, lay off, make the cheapest possible product,” she said in an interview.

“So the days of creative people dreaming up the best game they could imagine and taking years to make it happen, that’s all gone.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2026.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press