Food inflation is changing consumer habits—could it change votes?
For a few days in February, supermarket retailers appeared to be the most hated people in Canada. We had appearances in House of Commons committees, discussions about the adoption of a new Code of Conduct and the introduction of a bill—sponsored by federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh— that sought, among many things, to increase fines for price-fixing.
More than three months have gone by since Singh’s Bill C- passed second reading in the lower house, with NDP members enjoying support from the Conservative Party and the Bloc
Québécois. It is unclear at this point if the bill will make it out of committee. What is evident is that Canadians are not having a good time at the cash register.
More than two-thirds of Canadians say they are paying more than they did six months ago for fruits ( per cent), vegetables ( per cent), beef ( per cent), chicken (also per cent) and bread ( per cent), according to polling by Research Co. and Glacier Media. Majorities also report higher prices for items such as cereal ( per cent), prepared frozen meals ( per cent), laundry detergent ( per cent), shampoo ( per cent) and soap ( per cent).
Not everyone has been equally impacted. One third ( per cent) acknowledge that their diet has not been healthy over the past two months—a proportion that jumps to per cent among those in the lowest household income bracket and to per cent among those aged to . In the past six months, more than half of Canadians have taken two actions to deal with higher prices for the items they need: Buying at different stores instead of at a single store)
( per cent) and switching packaged-food brands to lower-priced alternatives ( per cent). In B.C., the incidence of these two behaviours rises to per cent—the highest across all regions.
Significant proportions of Canadians are also using apps to collect points ( per cent), using online coupons ( per cent) and using printed coupons ( per cent) to lower their grocery bills. Women are more likely to be actively relying on apps ( per cent) than men ( per cent).
There is no consensus on who to blame. During the pandemic, the prevailing justification for higher prices was labour and supply setbacks. Now, just seven per cent of Canadians think this reason is primarily responsible for the current state of affairs. Only two other options hold lower levels on this question: Climate change (six per cent) and the actions of farmers and growers (two per cent).
Fewer than one in five Canadians place responsibility on product manufacturers and suppliers ( per cent) or on global political conflicts ( per cent). This means that two entities are getting the brunt of dismay. Close to one in four Canadians ( per cent) blame supermarket retailers and grocery stores, while one-third ( per cent) point the finger at government.
Canadians aged to are more likely to hold governments responsible for higher grocery prices ( per cent) than their counterparts aged to ( per cent) and aged and over ( per cent).
Sizable proportions of Canadians say they believe the federal government ( per cent) and their provincial governments ( per cent) can do a lot to help lower the price of groceries.
Our survey shows that Canadians are taking action to save when grocery shopping. The perceptions of corporate greed and government inaction may be colliding, but only the latter has electoral consequences. With a federal contest in — and provincial ballots in New Brunswick, B.C. and Saskatchewan this October—making groceries more affordable may be as important for candidates to address as health care or job creation.
Mario Canseco is president of Research Co.
Results are based on an online survey conducted from May 6-8, 2024, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.