Just The Facts: Your Eyes Do Not Deceive You
Ottawa, ON – Canadians can stop wondering if they’re reading the price tag correctly. Food prices are rising, and the most recent StatsCan data on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) confirms it.
What Canadians have long experienced in sticker shock is now plain to see: grocery prices have exceeded overall inflation for nine consecutive months, with food now costing 3.4 per cent more year-over-year. No wonder 1 in 5 Canadians are skipping bills just to buy food.
Carney said that Canadians should judge him by prices at the grocery store, and these CPI figures paint a damning picture. Food prices are rising faster today than when he became Prime Minister, and the latest data is no comfort for those who are struggling to make ends meet amidst Liberal inflation and mismanagement.
The fine print is no better. For many young parents, infant formula is a basic necessity that now costs 5.9 per cent more than last year after climbing by over 80 per cent since 2017. The situation has gotten so desperate that formula has become “one of the most stolen food products in Canada” – something that should be unimaginable in a G7 country.
To make matters worse, roasted and ground coffee is up by an astounding 34.2 per cent – the last thing anyone needs after a sleepless night with a newborn.
Fruits and vegetables prices also speak to the cost of Carney. Oranges and apples are up 7.2 and 4.2 per cent respectively, while fruit juices are up 7.3 per cent and carrots 11 per cent year-over-year.
Canadians are also paying more for the poultry, meat and seafood that were once staples in Canadian homes. Fresh or frozen chicken is up 6.2 per cent, while seafood and other marine products is up 8 per cent. The price of meat has skyrocketed by 8.4 per cent and fresh and frozen beef has risen by an astonishing 16.8 per cent.
Overall, food inflation is still higher than the Bank of Canada’s target, forcing Canadians to make tough choices on how to eat, heat and house themselves.
Conservatives have offered the government a way out, calling on them to scrap the industrial carbon tax on fertilizer and farm equipment, the 17-cent/litre fuel standard on gas and diesel and the billion-dollar food packaging tax – all hidden taxes that drive up the cost of food. Sadly, the Liberals have already rejected this common sense proposal.
We just can’t afford more of the same. Conservatives will continue to hold the government to account for failing Canadian families and fight to restore Canada’s promise: a country where hard work leads to a home with a yard, affordable and nutritious food on the dinner table, and safe streets under a proud flag.