Canadian shows 'how cheap' groceries are in London compared to Canada
Canadians just can’t catch a break when it comes to the cost of groceries.
Statistics Canada’s latest Consumer Price Index found that inflation rose at a rate of 2.4 per cent compared to September last year, and food prices experienced the most significant increase.
Last month, grocery prices rose by four per cent compared to last year’s 2.4 per cent increase, contributing to the overall increase in inflation. According to the data, Canadians are paying more for produce, beef, and sugar.
To add salt to the wound, one Canadian illustrated just how much more groceries in Canada cost compared to the United Kingdom.
“I’m a Canadian living in London for the month of October, and I’m going to show you how cheap groceries are compared to Canada,” said Kyle Brownrigg in an Instagram Reel posted a week ago.
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He broke down the cost of a grocery trip to Tesco, a multinational retailer in the U.K. Its equivalent in Canada would be Loblaws, so Brownrigg compared the prices of items at Tesco to similar products sold at the Canadian grocery giant.
He noted that all of the prices were from that week’s sales on the Loblaws site. Daily Hive calculated the exchange rate, which varied slightly from Brownrigg’s calculations from last week.
The first to go in his shopping cart were cherry tomatoes. A 100-gram container of cherry tomatoes at Tesco is £0.80 (C$1.50), whereas at Loblaws, a similar product costs $7. Daily Hive checked the same brand of cherry tomatoes on the grocer’s site on Wednesday, and they cost $8.
@kylebrownrigg/Instagram
Next, Brownrigg picked up a bag of cashews, which cost £2.60 (C$4.86) at Tesco. A 100-gram bag at Loblaws costs $18.
@kylebrownrigg/Instagram
The price for a pack of yogurt at Tesco was £1.75 (C$3.28), whereas at Loblaws, it’s $5.99.
@kylebrownrigg/Instagram
He then bought some blue cheese for £2.75 (C$5.14). A similar product would’ve cost him $17.49 in Canada.
@kylebrownrigg/Instagram
Brownrigg stocked up on some protein, buying extra lean ground chicken at Tesco for £2.49 (C$4.65) and a pack of bacon for £1.80 (C$3.36). At Loblaws, extra lean ground chicken would’ve cost him $9 and he would’ve had to pay $10 for a similar pack of bacon.
@kylebrownrigg/Instagram
Lastly, the Canadian added a loaf of white bread to his cart for £0.55 (C$1.03), which would’ve cost him $4.29 at Loblaws.
@kylebrownrigg/Instagram
The total for his groceries came out to £9 (C$16.82). Daily Hive checked the price of all of the products he shared from Loblaws last week to prices shown on the site this week, and there are $0.50 to $1 discrepancies.
“I just paid nine pounds for an entire week’s worth of dinners, and that is including extra things that I also wanted to get for myself,” said Brownrigg.
@kylebrownrigg/Instagram
Thousands of people flooded his comments.
One person pointed out that tax is also included in U.K. grocery prices, unlike in Canada. They’re referring to Value-added Tax (VAT), which is already included on price tags in the U.K.
Other Canadians living in London echoed Brownrigg’s sentiments.
“I was shocked by how expensive groceries were when I returned to live in Canada,” reads one comment.
Others say his comparisons aren’t fair.
“You are comparing some of the highest prices I have seen in Canada 🇨🇦 compared to the lowest in London… Come on, seriously!!!” someone wrote.
Brownrigg ended the video with some choice words for Loblaw Companies Limited’s chairman.
“Galen Weston, go, f**k…” he said with the video cutting him off mid-sentence.
Are you a Canadian living in another country? Have you noticed a huge difference in the cost of groceries there compared to Canada? Share your experience with us at trending@dailyhive.com for a possible story.
With files from Irish Mae Silvestre