Liberals Vote Against Plan to Make Food Affordable
Ottawa, ON – In September 2023, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said, “What we are offering Canadians is a plan for more competition, less consolidation and lower prices.” After skyrocketing prices at the grocery store, the Liberals offered a one-time rebate financed by more debt that had made everything more expensive.
Since then, far from lowering prices, the cost at the till has only gone up. The price of peppers has soared 43 per cent while lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber – all grown in Canada – have surged almost 40 per cent, 20 per cent and over 17 per cent, respectively.
It’s not just what’s grown in our soil that’s increased, as fresh or frozen beef has jumped 27 per cent, while all non-poultry fresh or frozen meats increased by almost 22 per cent. Meat overall increased by almost 12 per cent, with ham and pork up over 10 per cent since Champagne’s announcement. These rising costs all add up to the highest food inflation in the G7, and double the rate in the US, as Liberal policies created a made-in-Canada problem.
Carney is now reheating his predecessor’s leftovers by rebranding the existing GST credit and providing a one-time top-up of less than $5 a week for just over a quarter of Canadians. That’s little comfort for families who will be paying an average of $17,600 this year on groceries, almost $1,000 more than last year, according to the 2026 Food Price Report.
During this Liberal cost-of-living crisis, Conservatives want to ensure that at least some Canadians will be provided relief, no matter how small. That’s why the Official Opposition worked with the government to help expedite Bill C-19, which will deliver a limited boost to the GST credit.
But while Conservatives worked together in a spirit of collaboration to help those suffering from rising costs, the Liberals voted against a Food Affordability Plan that would deliver grocery affordability for all Canadians. Instead of working together to make life affordable, Mark Carney bizarrely blamed the opposition for the Liberal policies that have delivered this made-in-Canada food inflation.
While Canadians are paying the costs of Carney with higher prices at the till and record line-ups at food banks, Conservatives continue to offer real change that will take the tax off food, boost competition and deliver a real plan to restore food affordability for all.