Winnipeggers react to one-time grocery payment

A one-time grocery payment will be handed out to Canadians eligible for the existing GST/HST rebate to help with the rising cost of living, but only if they have completed their 2025 tax return.

The one-time temporary top-up payment will go out to Canadians on June 5, which is part of the essentials benefit that will officially replace the GST/HST credit starting in July.

Vince Barletta is the president of Harvest Manitoba. The local organization says over 108 thousand Manitobans access their programming each month, from families, children, infants, and seniors, who are struggling to put food on their table.

“So the grocery and essentials benefit, it will help. The top-up is going to put some cash in people’s pockets, I think, at a very important time when price is right now are very high and the ongoing grocery essentials benefit will be a good thing,” said Barletta.

The amount Canadians will receive is based on income and family size. For example, a family of four with a $40,000 net income can get a $533 one‑time top‑up on June 5, and a single person with $25,000 net income can get a $267 one‑time top‑up on June 5.

“If you keep getting more and more and more, then there’s nothing to give in the end, right? So like even now I just bought pulled pork, I was doing pulled pork for dinner, cost me 12 buns, a pork roast, and the seasoning stuff cost me what? 60 bucks. So, 500… say I can do nine meals out of that, but that’s how you have to think these days, you have to really extend it and see how far you can go with these things,” said Mark Durant, a Winnipegger.

Lisa Johnson, another Winnipegger, said, “Surprising that it’s something even honestly. Between that and the past thing happening, I mean, it’s going to help. Is it enough? No, not with the inflation and everything for sure, but it’s definitely better than… nothing.

While Barlette said, “The grocery and essentials benefit in general, as a program to help get more cash into the pockets of folks with low incomes is something that we support. Will it be a solution to poverty? No, it won’t, and we need to continue to do work at a variety of levels to make sure that we bring poverty down and incomes up all across our country and here in Manitoba.”