Grocery prices have been going up faster than overall inflation for more than a year, with the exception of August.
Economist Jim Stanford and agriculture professor Mike von Massow say a combination of factors is driving food prices higher, including climate, immigration policies, tariffs and retailer pricing.
Using Consumer Price Index data from Statistics Canada, Marketplace looked at some of the biggest year-over-year food price increases in 2026 and what was driving them.
In January, the price of ground beef increased by more than 10 times the rate of general inflation. (Bryan Eneas/CBC)
Here’s why:
Stanford, the director of the Centre for Future Work, says skyrocketing beef prices have pushed some shoppers toward a cheaper protein option.
Here’s why:
“That’s all been compounded by the fad around protein,” said Mike von Massow, a professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College. “Everyone’s saying, I need to eat more protein. So protein prices are going up partly because of scarcity and partly because people are just conscious of eating more protein.”
Economist Jim Stanford and Professor Mike von Massow explain the reasons behind some of the biggest food price increases this year. (Joe Fiorino/CBC)
Here’s why:
Experts say the jump in tomato prices was partly due to Trump administration immigration policies. (CBC/Radio-Canada)
“Donald Trump put large tariffs on Mexican tomatoes into the U.S,” said von Massow. “So they planted fewer tomatoes … and then had very dry weather. That sort of was kind of a double whammy.”
Here’s why:
The Competition Bureau has been examining the role of major grocers for years.
In 2023, it called for more competition to help lower prices. Its recommendations included supporting new types of grocery businesses, such as online and international grocers; limiting property restrictions that block competition in some communities; and introducing standardized unit pricing — such as per 100 grams or per litre — so shoppers can more easily compare prices.
Last month, the Bureau reported progress on those recommendations, pointing to stronger competition laws and new rules in Manitoba, including a ban on new property restrictions that major grocery chains use to prevent competitors from opening locations nearby. Manitoba is also looking at replicating unit-pricing laws that already exist in Quebec.
But the Bureau said food prices remain a concern and that more action is needed.
This month, the bureau launched another investigation into supplier and retailer policies that restrict the advertising of discounts, raising concerns that Canadians are missing out on grocery deals.
The Retail Council of Canada, which represents most major grocers, told Marketplace that retailers make just two to four cents in profit on every dollar of sales for food and that any profit growth is coming from non-food sales.
In January, the federal government introduced the Groceries and Essentials Benefit for Canadians whose incomes fall below a specific amount.
In June, it announced a National Food Security Strategy that includes more than $3 billion in investments intended to address affordability, sustainability and resilience in Canada’s food supply.
Minister of Agriculture Heath MacDonald says the government’s plan to lower grocery prices will take a while to implement. (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)
Minister of Agriculture Heath MacDonald initially declined CBC’s requests for an interview, but we caught up with him in Charlottetown last week.
“It’s an overall plan. This isn’t going to happen overnight,” he said when asked when Canadians will see lower prices.
“What we need to do as a country is start building out for the future, to make sure that when we are faced with these challenges, we can handle it a lot better than we have in the past,” he said.
He added that the plan includes $12.9 million per year to strengthen the Competition Bureau and Competition Tribunal and their ability to “tackle a larger share of issues … and help bring down consumer costs.”
