There’s the uncertainty around how much you’re going to have to fork over for your grocery cart, but for many families, there’s also a very real struggle to cover the cost of the basics at the checkout counter. According to a new Angus Reid Institute survey, 51% of Canadians say it’s a challenge to keep up with their household food needs. And there is no price discrimination, as that goes for low-income households as well as Canadian families with incomes over $200,000.
“While inflation might be moderating, the accumulated effects of past inflation means that many goods remain expensive,” says Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S. Which is why people of all ages, and families of all sizes, from coast to coast are feeling the pinch, including Anna Lee Boschetto, a mom of two in Caledon, Ont. “I consider myself very fortunate that despite high food prices, we never go hungry,” she says. “But it’s not lost on me that there are a number of families in my neighbourhood, across the GTA and beyond who are not as lucky. It’s alarming because there doesn’t seem to be a tangible resolution to this crisis.”
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The ins and outs of inflation
The inflation rate in Canada saw decreases this fall—it’s now at 2.0% for October. So, why are we all still feeling the pinch at the coffee shop, market, grocery store and even when we order in? High inflation has meant higher operating costs for farmers and producers, supply-chain disruptions and shifts in corporate profits, which have all led to high food prices.
And, while the price growth for food is finally beginning to moderate, coming in at 2.7% year-over-year in October (up from 2.4% in September), according to the most recent Consumer Price Index report, that still leaves food inflation higher than headline inflation.
Why your grocery bills are still so high
The average family of four is expected to spend $16,297.20 on food this year—that’s as much as $701.79 more than in 2023, according to the latest edition of Canada’s Food Price Report, published by Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia.
And that’s on top of the whopping increase of $1,065 the year before. “Families are feeling the pressure,” says Charlebois. So, no, you’re not imagining that inflation isn’t gone. We’re still dealing with it.
When will food prices fall in Canada?
When and how much food prices will fall is a complicated question—without an easy answer. This is partly due to the fact that it’s not just about inflation.
“Global supply issues, ongoing global unrest and unpredictable weather all have also had an impact on food prices,” says Mike von Massow, a food economist at the University of Guelph.