Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the CEOs of Canada’s largest grocery companies must devise a plan to reduce food costs by October or face consequences.
Trudeau made an address at the closing of the Liberal cabinet retreat in London, Ontario, on Thursday.
He explained that Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne will be calling on “the big five” grocery CEOs from Loblaw, Costco, Metro, Walmart, and Empire Co. (which owns Sobeys), to come to Ottawa ready to take action.
“It’s not okay that our biggest grocery stores are making record profits while Canadians are struggling to put food on the table,” said Trudeau.
“So Minister Champagne will be calling on the heads of large grocers to come to Ottawa with a plan to address the rising cost of food. We expect to hear from them by Thanksgiving on what their plan is to stabilize pricing.”
“Won’t take anything off the table”: Trudeau
The prime minister followed up with a warning to the grocery giants.
“And let me be very clear: if their plan doesn’t provide real relief to the middle class and people working hard to join it, then we will take further action, and we’re not ruling anything out, including tax measures,” he said.
When asked by the media about the Liberal’s specific plan if grocers do not cooperate or find a method to reduce costs, Trudeau did not provide a concrete answer.
Instead, he reiterated that the CEOs of Canadian grocery giants are expected to come to Ottawa to present their plans to “stabilize food prices and ideally… start bringing them down.”
“We are confident they will be able to come up with a strong plan to support Canadians,” he stated, adding again that if they fail to do so, the federal government “will take action” and won’t leave “anything off the table” in its response to grocery CEOs not cooperating.
CEOs faced a parliamentary committee earlier this year
The CEOs of Canada’s largest grocery chains — including Galen Weston Jr. from Loblaw Companies — were summoned to Ottawa in March to testify in front of a parliamentary committee studying food price inflation and food insecurity.
Some of the CEOs sparked backlash as they defended food costs.
“No matter how many times you read it on Twitter, the idea that grocers are causing food inflation is not only false, it’s impossible,” stated Weston Jr. during his testimony.
Trudeau was also asked why the government didn’t take action against grocery companies making record profits earlier.
The prime minister said that the Liberals have implemented measures such as the grocery rebate and having MPs call grocery CEOs “to committee to explain themselves.”
The federal government’s grocery rebates were issued to millions of Canadians in July, but many were disappointed, calling it a “band-aid” solution.
Not enough grocery competition in Canada
According to Canada’s Competition Bureau, the country’s three biggest grocers — Loblaws, Sobeys, and Metro — reported over $100 billion in sales and more than $3.6 billion in profits in 2022.
Following a months-long probe into the competition in Canada’s grocery industry, the Competition Bureau published a set of recommendations in June 2023 to alleviate high grocery prices.
The federal watchdog noted that the country’s grocery industry is “concentrated,” making it difficult for small and medium-sized businesses to compete against the grocery giants effectively.
“Without changes in the competitive landscape, Canadians will not be able to fully benefit from competitive prices and product choices,” noted the report.
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