Loblaw boycott community announces "indefinite" extension to movement
The online community that started a boycott of stores owned by Canadian grocery giant Loblaw has shared that it’s extending the boycott “indefinitely.”
“In a decisive move, the community members of the movement to boycott Loblaw and its affiliates have voted overwhelmingly to extend their boycott indefinitely. Following a recent poll, a majority of the community expressed their support for continuing the boycott against Loblaw, citing ongoing dissatisfaction with the skyrocketing cost of groceries,” said the boycott organizers in a statement emailed to Daily Hive on Tuesday morning.
“The community has spoken and shown great support for extending the boycott and remaining focused on Loblaw. We look forward to seeing our impact once Q2 financials are released.”
They added that this statement “reflects the collective determination of a community fed up with the disparity between rising grocery prices and the record profits reported by companies like Loblaw.”
Initially planned for just May, the boycott is heating up and picking up momentum. A lot has happened since it began three weeks ago.
Last Thursday, Loblaw announced it was finally signing the Canadian Grocery Code of Conduct.
The company’s president and CEO, Per Bank, said Loblaw had “worked intensively and collaboratively with industry groups so that the Code is clearly drafted and fair for all industry participants.”
“With the news that Loblaw is joining the Grocery Sector Code of Conduct, we call on the remaining large retailers to follow suit,” said Canada’s minister of agriculture and agri-food, Lawrence MacAulay.
With the news that Loblaw is joining the Grocery Sector Code of Conduct, we call on the remaining large retailers to follow suit.
Until then, I’m looking at all available federal options.
Please see my statement with Minister @andrelamontagn2 : https://t.co/G9BByGdVjT
— Lawrence MacAulay (@L_MacAulay) May 16, 2024
Many believe the pressures from the boycott contributed to this step.
“What a federal cabinet minister couldn’t achieve in a year, a popular boycott did in two weeks,” wrote lawyer Harminder Dhillon on X.
What a federal cabinet Minister couldn’t achieve in a year, a popular boycott did in 2 weeks. Power of social media.
Loblaw agrees to support grocery code of conduct after years of industry negotiations #Loblaws https://t.co/5YGbanN9Sz
— Harminder Dhillon (@DhillonHariGTA) May 16, 2024
Just very coincidental timing halfway through the month long (and perhaps longer) boycott… and not at all Loblaw trying to regain lost customers/public favour… 🤔🤨 https://t.co/cnV5iCewqA pic.twitter.com/SbqWYLaD3p
— Alexa Avelar (@AlexaAvelar1) May 17, 2024
It usually costs me about $250 for 2 weeks of groceries from @loblawco. Between costco, walmart, and the farmers market I bought a months worth of groceries for $300. I will never shop at loblaws for my groceries again. Thankyou boycott organisers#boycottloblaws #loblawsboycott
— Rolstadt (@rolstadt1) May 15, 2024
Earlier this month, Emily Johnson, the creator of the subreddit Loblaws Is Out Of Control and a key figure in boycott organization efforts, published a poll asking the community, “What would you like to see happen after May?”
The poll was closed after nearly 6,500 participated. Last Wednesday, Johnson and her community moderation team shared the results.
Only 1.84% of participants wanted the movement to end on June 1. Another 8.66% said they’d like to move to boycotting another major grocer.
Over 30% voted to extend the boycott until the end of Q2, and almost 60% shared the desire to boycott Loblaw-owned stores “indefinitely.”
“Over the coming months, the boycott organizers will focus on empowering consumers through education on key topics and engaging in advocacy efforts to garner political attention and raise awareness via social media challenges,” the boycott organizers shared in their latest statement. “Additionally, we will be working to educate our members to better understand the regulatory regimes which allow Loblaw to operate in this manner.”
Other posts on the subreddit discussed future ideas and strategies to keep Canadians engaged in the movement.
Some shared how their grocery shopping experience has changed since they began boycotting.
“The longer I boycott Loblaws, the more I get used to going to other stores,” one person posted.
“[Shopping at Loblaw stores] was habit for most. Now that I have a new routine, I have zero need to ever go back,” someone commented on the post.
It usually costs me about $250 for 2 weeks of groceries from @loblawco. Between costco, walmart, and the farmers market I bought a months worth of groceries for $300. I will never shop at loblaws for my groceries again. Thankyou boycott organisers#boycottloblaws #loblawsboycott
— Rolstadt (@rolstadt1) May 15, 2024
“I realize now my shopping at Loblaw stores was mostly out of habit and a latent unconscious bias against ‘discount’ stores, which is very silly when those stores just sell the exact same products at lower prices, and it takes less time to shop there because they don’t pretend to be an entire f***ing mall,” another community member shared.
Do you think the boycott has affected Loblaw and is influencing its decisions as a company?
Are you participating in the boycott? Email us at [email protected] and share what you plan to do once May ends.
This article was originally published on May 17. It has since been updated.
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