Originally Posted by User8181416

To follow up on this, I received a response from Air Canada. It was quite lengthy, but here's the meat of it:

"We would like to provide some clarity regarding how the eUpgrade standby list is prioritized. The system first considers the fare family of the ticket, followed by the Aeroplan status of the traveler.
For example, if you are a Super Elite member flying on an Economy Flex fare and another traveler is 75K flying on an Economy Comfort fare, the system will prioritize the 75K member higher due to the fare family, even though your status is higher. With that being said, the most probably explanation is that the Eupgraded passenger did have a higher fare to be considered by the system above you.
Please note that upgrade eligibility is generally influenced by factors such as loyalty status, fare class, and overall flight capacity."

Interesting. So fare does beat status, even at the gate?