Cost of food in Canada

[qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn]

I’m still fairly new in Canada, from my observations food seems to be quite expensive here. Are there any tips on how to save on groceries especially in Saskatoon.

This is especially so when you compare it to the situation in the U.K where you can easily get a bowl of fruits and veggies for £1 per bowl.

Kindly point me to the right places to shop from, I need to clean up my diet ASAP.

 

[summerbasket]

@qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn yeah, I am from the UK originally too. Food is more expensive here. Generally across the board.

The supermarkets here don't really seem to compete the same way they do at home.

And inflation has made it much more obvious now too after having gotten used to it

 

[elenya]

@summerbasket We need Lidl and Aldi here. Many of the different chains are owned by the same company. That should stop.

 

[summerbasket]

@elenya I mean just supermarkets that compete on price. Tesco and Sainsburys advertise against each other on price. Loblaws just says how nice they are, and leave price competition to no frills. And then they all collude on price as is Canadian tradition as everything is an oligopoly.

 

[beaufordqrastus]

@elenya We would end up with the same issues - canada in general has a lot of base costs or systems that cause the high pricing in the first place. Supply management is one of the biggest reasons that certain items are so expensive here. Add in all the other areas where government taxes and fees add to costs and it becomes a perfect storm. There is a reason you haven't seen these companies come to canada (as so many call for the entry of trader joes) is because of the supply chain controls and requirements (lets not forget language rules which requires new packaging/labelling to be created) driving up costs across the board making it not realistic for these business models to work. They would also have to set up a complete supply chain here to private label their products which in itself is not simple (see targets disaster).

It all starts with the regulations that drive the market and no politician will ever tackle that one.

Take Saputo - Winnco in Bellingham Washington - 12 pack of frigo cheese strings 2.98 (or less) - 10 pack of Armstrong marble cheese strings 6.98 (walmart n. vancouver). Both made by the same Canadian company, only one market has government sponsored price fixing.

 

[elenya]

@beaufordqrastus If lidl and Aldi can work in Europe, USA and Australia I think they can manage the languages and the remote supply chain in Canada.

 

[momof3littleloves]

@beaufordqrastus You don't technically need an entirely new package. All my import goods come with a nice big sticker having the required English and French info printed on it. A lot cheaper than making a new package, even though it does take a little more labour costs to stick em on.

 

[beaufordqrastus]

@momof3littleloves Whole Foods does this for a lot of their 365 products, although we have a fraction of what is offered in their US stores (and that 365 product tends to be extremely competitive). With that said there are only 13 locations in Canada - the other places that you would see this is small stores that import foreign specialty product. For a lidl/aldi to do this at scale for every product they sell, it's probably not practical and would add too much to the price.

 

[momof3littleloves]

@beaufordqrastus My instant noodles are an import and they come with a sticker. They're from a Loblaws store.

It shouldn't add more than a few cents per item if it's an entire store worth of no name goods, because at that point you'd buy a machine to attach the stickers, not do it by hand.

 

[resjudicata]

@elenya Like airlines and telecom, if they get too good at competing, they will be regulated out of the market for being outsiders.

 

[kittykat239]

@summerbasket That's why one of the richest Canadians owns a grocery store. Fuck Galen Weston.

 

[elenya]

@kittykat239 As long as profits are that massive there is room for new competition.

 

[mombowlin]

@summerbasket

The supermarkets here don't really seem to compete the same way they do at home.

Yeah they price fix here instead of competing

 

[resjudicata]

@summerbasket A few years back grocers were caught price fixing and were giving less than a slap in the wrist and allowed to continue. Telecoms followed suit since there is no repercussions even though it is illegal. Life in Canada.

 

[wild]

@summerbasket We don’t compete in any market. Canada is happy for monopolies and oligopolies to exist and set up deliberate price gouging. All one has to do is look at internet and cell phone rates to see this. Fuck our CRTC rep use to be a fucking cell phone lobbyist and now he’s someone our chair of anti price fixing?

Canada is a Ponzi scheme that funnels money upwards while hoping the politeness of Canadians keeps us from actually protesting.

We have the most over inflated real estate market in the world, our food costs are high, and our internet and cell rates are higher than anywhere else in the world. Welcome to the big scam.

 

[billyuk1989]

@summerbasket Isn't that insane? When you compare farmable land in Canada to the UK you'd think food here would be dirty cheap.

 

[elenya]

@billyuk1989 I buy Canadian cheddar cheaper in the UK than I do in Canada. There is something rotten in Canada.

 

[bernard2291]

@elenya Crown royal whiskey is made about an hour away from me. But it's cheaper to drive 2hrs to cross the US border to get it. More than enough to cover the gas.

 

[elenya]

@bernard2291 I see what you are saying, micro vs macro.

 

[rickni]

@billyuk1989 Doesn’t seem like it, but Canada is essentially a third world economy. We mostly export resources and import essentials (for fuel, we export for refining and are charged much more when it is imported after). We provide like 80% of the world’s wheat as export for breads and other things for foreign markets. But that means that much of our farmed goods aren’t for the domestic market and it’s a big problem.