How grocery prices in Canada compare to countries around the world
Soaring grocery prices have been top of mind for Canadians lately.
From the month-long Loblaw boycott in May in protest of the sky-high cost of groceries to people taking drastic measures to cut costs on food, it feels like Canadians can’t catch a break.
Is the True North alone in the struggle to afford groceries nowadays?
If you’re curious about how much food costs around the world, Daily Hive has you covered.
Here are just a few of our stories comparing grocery prices in Canada to those in other countries.
Philippines vs. Walmart Canada
Daily Hive National reporter Irish Mae Silvestre checked out the grocery prices on a trip to the Philippines. She browsed the aisles at Shopwise, a chain of supermarkets that stocks local products and imported items familiar to Canadian shoppers.
To compare, we decided to go with the prices available at Walmart Canada. While some items were surprisingly more expensive (C$7/kg for russet potatoes in this economy?), you might be shocked that others were on par with what you’ll find in Canada.
Here’s an example of one comparison:
White bread
Irish Mae Silvestre/Daily Hive | Walmart.ca
Philippines: 85 pesos/600 g (C$2.05)
Canada: C$2.97/675 g
Read the full article here.
Spain vs. Canada
Daily Hive Vancouver writer Megan Devlin compared grocery prices while on a trip across Europe.
She visited Germany, Spain, and Portugal, curious to see if post-COVID-19 inflation was also wreaking havoc at supermarkets there.
Here’s a sneak peek of her findings in Spain.
“My friends and I had a three-day long stay booked in a Spanish village. We needed meals and booze for the six of us with not many restaurants around. On the menu? Yogurt parfaits for the early risers, bacon and eggs for brunch, cured meats, cheese, and fruit for snack, and adobo pork belly for dinner (leftovers to be turned into fried rice the following day).
The entire cart at Spanish grocer Dia, including beer, wine, and some toiletries, came to €110. That’s about C$160. I don’t know about you, but I can easily spend that on food for just myself for a week back in Canada, never mind a few bottles of wine on top. So we were pleased.”
Megan Devlin/Daily Hive
Read the full article here. It also includes comparisons with Germany and Portugal.
Walmart Mexico vs. Walmart Canada
Daily Hive National senior writer Simran Singh went to a Walmart in Mexico and compared the prices of 10 basic food items to Walmart Canada.
Here’s an example of one of the comparisons:
Shredded cheese
Simran Singh/Daily Hive | Walmart Canada
Walmart Mexico: Mex$109/C$8.08 for 453 grams — C$1.78 per 100 grams
Walmart Canada: C$5.48 for 320 grams — C$1.71 per 100 grams
Winner:Â Walmart Canada
Read the full article here.
Australia vs. No Frills Canada
Daily Hive Nation senior writer Isabelle Docto took a trip to Australia that coincided with the Loblaw boycott in May.
She popped into a Coles in Brisbane and a Metro (which is owned by Woolworths) in Melbourne to compare prices of lunch staples to Loblaw’s discount supermarket chain, No Frills.
Here’s a sneak peek of one of the comparisons:
Eggs
Australia: A carton of 12 cage-free large eggs at Metro will run you AU$5.50 — about C$5.01.
Canada: A regular-priced carton of President’s Choice, free run large brown eggs is C$6.99.
Winner:Â Australian eggs are cheaper by nearly C$2.
Read the full article here.
The US vs. Real Canadian Superstore
Senior writer Simran Singh also travelled to Arizona. She stopped at a grocery store in Phoenix to stock up on food for a week in the desert.
She headed into Fry’s — a supermarket operated by the US grocery retail giant Kroger Co. — to pick up some staples and decided to compare the prices to those of the Real Canadian Superstore.
Here’s an example of one of the comparisons:
Bag of mandarin oranges
Simran Singh/Daily Hive | Real Canadian Superstore
Fry’s oranges: US$4.99 for a three-pound bag or C$6.79
Superstore’s oranges: C$8.99 for a three-pound bag
Winner: Fry’s
Read the full article here.
Jamaica vs. Canada
While visiting Jamaica, one Canadian headed to the supermarket to see how much residents pay for common grocery items.
TikToker @liddy86 is based in Toronto, and she wanted to compare the prices of groceries during a shopping trip in Kingston. She headed to Shoppers Fair, a chain of supermarkets owned by one of the grocery giants in Jamaica, Progressive Grocers.
Where possible, Daily Hive tried to find similar package sizes for our comparisons.
Here’s an example:
Lettuce
@liddy86/TikTok | Walmart.ca
Shoppers Fair:Â J$643.60 (C$5.60)
Walmart:Â C$3.47
Read the full article here.
France vs. Canada
Daily Hive chose 10 items from the French supermarket chain Carrefour to compare to Walmart Canada.
Here’s an example:
Potatoes
Carrefour.fr | Walmart.ca
Carrefour: €0.99/$1.46 (1kg)
Walmart: C$5.97 (2.26kg) — C$2.64/kg
Read the full article here.
UK vs. Canada
One Canadian who used to live in the UK compared the price of groceries across the pond to Canada, and they were appalled at the difference.
“Overall, prices are about 50% more expensive than the UK,” Reddit user devilf91 shared in a post.
Daily Hive decided to fact-check Reddit users’ comparisons of food prices. Since they didn’t mention what grocery store they frequented in the UK, we chose one of the major chains, Tesco, and compared it to No Frills and Loblaws, as mentioned by the Redditor.
Here’s an example:
Pasta
Tesco | Loblaws
UK’s price: One kilogram of pasta at Tesco is £1.29, which is C$2.21.
Canada’s price: At Loblaws, 900 grams of pasta costs C$2.69. At 30 cents per 100 grams, it would cost C$3.26 for 1 kg.
Winner: The UK’s package of pasta is cheaper.
Read the full article here.