Agri‑Food Analytics Lab: COVID‑19 Food Price Inflation in Canada

More than 2 Canadians in 5 have changed their behavior to save money at the grocery store compared to 2020. Food inflation has been a source of concern for many Canadian consumers for a while in Canada.

Food inflation has been a source of concern for many Canadian consumers for a while in Canada. Based on our observations, the food inflation rate in Canada is close to 5%.

Many staples including meat, dairy, and groceries have increased in recent months due to macroeconomic shocks, caused by both unfavorable weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere and logistical challenges due to the global pandemic.

Our latest investigation, in partnership with Caddle, looks at how consumers are coping with higher food prices at retail.

More than 10,000 Canadians were surveyed in the Fall 2021 about food prices, how they see prices, and what they are doing to cope with higher food bills.

Most Canadians have noticed higher food prices. A total of 86% of Canadians believe food prices are higher than 6 months ago, however, some generational differences are noteworthy.

While 93% of Boomers believe food prices are higher than 6 months ago, 89% of Gen Xers think the same.

Fewer Millennials(79%) and Gen Zs (68%) believe food prices are much higher than 6 months ago.

Based on these results, Boomers appear to have noticed rising food prices more so than other generations.

In your view, what is the ONE food category which has increased the MOST in the last 6 months?

Meat is the category that most Canadians have noticed a difference in prices over the last 6 months. According to Statistics Canada, meat prices have increased by about 10% in 6 months.

Fruits ranked second, and vegetable third.

When asked which is the one category which has increased the most, meat is by far the most popular option selected by Canadians, at 51.8%, followed by groceries, at 15.7%.

According to Statistics Canada, Groceries have gone up in price by 8% to 10% in the last 6 months.

Vegetables and fruits are third and fourth. These results are interesting as fruits and vegetable have generally been cheaper in the last 6 months in Canada.

Purchase decisions have been impacted by higher prices. For example, a total of 49% of Canadians claim to have reduced their purchases of meat products in the last 6 months due to higher prices.