Grocery stores

CAMP welcomes Empire’s move to curb property controls that restrict grocery competition, while calling for Competition Bureau oversight and broader provincial action.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $3.2-billion food security strategy Thursday, with several measures aimed at increasing competition in the grocery sector.

CAMP executive director Keldon Bester joins CANADALAND Short Cuts to discuss grocery competition in Canada and what policy can do to improve it.

“In Canada, because of a lack of competition, grocery chains were able to fully pass on cost increases to customers, keeping their margins stable and earning higher dollar profits over a now larger cost base,” Bester explained in an email.

The Agenda with Steve Paikin discusses a new report from the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project that argues Canada’s food system is being undermined by monopoly. And while grocery stores have become an easy target for consumer anger over the cost of food, this report says consolidation has occurred at all levels of the supply chain. The Agenda looks at the implications of the report.

A text blast campaign from Loblaw-owned No Frills encouraging customers to buy local produce at the store instead of a farmers' market wasn't well received by many shoppers or farmers.