Just The Facts: The Liberal Hunger Crisis
Ottawa, ON – Nearly a year after asking to be judged by prices at the grocery store, Canadians are painfully aware of the change that Prime Minister Carney has failed to bring.
Recent Consumer Price Index data from Statistics Canada adds to an already grim picture, with food inflation rocketing to 7.3 per cent year-over-year in a country facing the worst food price increases in the G7.
And that figure is far from the ceiling. Compared with January 2025, canned fruit was up 11.1 per cent, whole chicken by 12.9 per cent, pork shoulders by 13.2 per cent, nuts and seeds by 13.4 per cent, beef by 18.8 per cent and roasted or ground coffee by nearly 40 per cent year-over-year.
For those eating out, the situation is no better. Food purchased from restaurants alone was up 12.3 per cent in the same period, with take-out and fast food up by 14 per cent. No wonder Restaurants Canada reported that nearly half of restaurants are operating at a loss or barely breaking even, with 7,000 closing last year and as many as 4,000 projected to close in 2026.
No wonder household credit card debt was up by 50.6 per cent last year compared to 2015 – an increase of an astounding $39.74 billion.
In a country rich both in land and those who work it, where 70 per cent of all food and 80 per cent of processed food and drinks are made right here at home, such a reality is unacceptable.
That’s why this week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sent a letter to the Prime Minister, calling on him to work with the Opposition to implement Conservative policies that would boost competition in our grocery sector and slash the taxes that drive up food prices, like the 17 cent per litre fuel standard tax on truckers and farmers.
Canadians cannot eat the Liberals’ rhetoric, and they cannot accept their attempts to blame this made-in-Canada problem on global factors. It’s time for all MPs to support real change that boosts affordability, so all our families can enjoy healthy, nutritious meals once again.