$45 for toilet paper?! People stunned by grocery prices in one Canadian community
If you think grocery shopping in Canada is expensive where you live, the prices in one community will have you doing a double take.
A content creator recently shared a video of grocery prices in one community in Canada that has many viewers wondering how people can afford to shop there. Yassine Nouah is a travel vlogger from Vancouver, B.C., documenting his experience in different countries and various parts of Canada.
In one video, he heads to Northern, a supermarket in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., a hamlet that’s home to just over 1,000 people, according to the Government of Northwest Territories.
“Have you ever wondered what it’s like to get groceries in the Arctic?” he asks.
Going through some everyday products, the prices add up fast.
@yassine.nouah/TikTok
A pack of 12 Aquafina water bottles is priced at $27.09, while a President’s Choice version is only slightly cheaper at $23.89. Meanwhile, four litres of chocolate milk will cost you $20.59.
And getting your regular fruit intake doesn’t come cheap either — a kilo of bananas costs $7.49.
“These prices are bananas,” Nouah quips.
One product that stood out to viewers was a 30-roll pack of President’s Choice toilet paper and its hefty price tag.
“God forbid you need to wipe yourself, how about $45?” he asks, incredulous. “Yeah, man. I’m wiping with a leaf at best.”
However, one viewer corrects him, stating, “No trees, so no leaves to wipe.”
But the sticker shock doesn’t end there.
@yassine.nouah/TikTok
Bell peppers cost $18 per kilo, a two-litre tub of maple walnut Chapman’s ice-cream costs $18.49, and an 825-gram box of Froot Loops costs $18.69. In comparison, a 30-count carton of Burbrae Farms eggs costs a somewhat reasonable $14.29.
Watch the video below:
So, why are products so expensive in the north?
In a 2022 report, advocacy platform Global Citizens states that grocery prices remain high in Northern Canada due to “extreme weather, high transportation costs, and limited access to local produce.” It adds that since hunting and fishing are heavily regulated, they’re not sustainable sources of food. Meanwhile, the Northwest Territories’ minimum wage is $17.20 per hour.
“Do people actually BUY things there???” one viewer asked in disbelief.
“And people down south complain about evvvvverything lol,” one commenter wrote.
“I will have eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner probably if I live there,” another person stated.