For Canadians trying to stretch their grocery dollars, the hunt for savings is becoming increasingly difficult, with shoppers saying even basic staples now feel out of reach. Outside a Toronto-area Loblaw store, one customer told CTV News that her weekly food bill, once around $80, now routinely lands between $150 and $200—a jump that reflects the stubborn reality of food inflation.
According to the latest Statistics Canada data, food prices were 3.4 per cent higher in October, slightly down from four per cent in September. But any easing of inflation on paper isn’t translating into relief at the checkout. “The problem in recent years is all categories of groceries are going up in price, all at once,” said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. “Grocery prices remain elevated and have outpaced overall inflation for nine consecutive months.”
Nowhere is the squeeze more obvious than at the meat counter. Shoppers from coast to coast say chicken, traditionally the most affordable protein, has become one of the biggest sources of frustration. Whole chickens are now 23 per cent more expensive than a year ago, Charlebois said, while ground beef has risen nearly 22 per cent. With protein accounting for close to 40 per cent of grocery spending, many families are finding it harder than ever to keep nutritious meals on the table.
Charlebois says the core issue is supply. Canada is simply not producing enough chicken and beef to keep up with the country’s growing population, and federal limits on imports are adding further pressure on protein prices. “We’re not producing enough domestically, and we’re restricting how much we can bring in,” he explained.
There may, however, be a small glimmer of relief ahead. With Canada removing its counter-tariffs against the United States, Charlebois believes food price inflation may continue to cool and that retailers will eventually be forced to lower prices to retain customers. “There’s hope we’ll start to see savings passed on,” he said, noting that stores won’t want to lose shoppers who are becoming increasingly selective about where—and what—they buy.
For now, though, Canadians facing soaring chicken and beef prices say that navigating the grocery aisle has become a weekly exercise in both budgeting and frustration.