Majority of Canadians believe grocery prices will continue to rise: poll
Posted July 28, 2023 9:34 am.
Last Updated July 28, 2023 3:21 pm.
A majority of Canadians, 71 per cent, believe food costs will continue to be steep six months from now, according to a new poll.
It comes as the latest Consumer Price Index found the cost of food was up 8.3 per cent in June over the last month.
The poll from Maru Public Opinion also found that only three per cent of those polled believe food prices will be down six months from now.
Most of the Canadians surveyed blamed grocery chains and food outlets for the higher prices, with 39 per cent saying they believe grocery stores are charging excessive prices.
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Just below 30 per cent believe the high cost is due to food suppliers while 15 per cent attribute it to events forcing up the prices including the war in Ukraine, worker strikes at seaports and weather occurrences.
The Consumer Price Index found meat increased by 6.9 per cent, dairy products by 7.4 per cent and bakery products by 12.9 per cent.
Fresh fruit prices grew at a faster pace in June at 10.4 per cent than in May, which was driven in part by a 30 per cent month-over-month increase in the price of grapes.
Food purchased from restaurants rose by 6.6 per cent, slightly lower than the 6.8 per cent year-over-year hike in May.
Researcher Sylvain Charlebois said he’s not surprised this is how Canadians feel. “What that means to me is that 71 per cent of Canadians actually know what’s going on,” said Charlebois.
However, he said he doesn’t believe grocers are taking advantage of the inflation momentum.
According to a report, Charlebois said Canadians are actually spending less at the grocery store despite inflation.
“Which means that people are trading down, they’re buying different brands. They’re going to different locations to buy food, Giant Tiger, Costco and Walmart are benefiting heavily from seeing a more frugal marketplace right now in Canada, not the main grocers like Metro and Loblaws.”
This survey was conducted between July 21-24, 2023, among a random selection of 1,527 Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada panelists. The probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
