Shopper outraged at price difference between groceries in Toronto and the U.S.
People spending the time and money to trek to the U.S. for grocery hauls may just have the right idea as prices at Loblaws, Sobeys and more outlets north of the border continue to shock and dismay.
One TikToker partook in the trend of comparing shelves at different stores to show how out-of-control the cost of living in Canada is right now, and discovered a baffling contrast between the cost of an item in Toronto, and the same one just a few hours away in America.
After sharing that he spent a total of $60 at a downtown Loblaws — the St. Clair and Bathurst location specifically — the consumer whipped out what he found to be the most appallingly-priced product when compared to its U.S. counterpart: a $13.65 packsge of chicken thighs.
@trash_pandaaaaa Doing Groceries in Canada has become a luxury. This is completely unacceptable, they are FLEECING us. #loblaws #metro #sobeys #groceriesonabudget #groceriesincanada #canada #canadagroceries #shrinkflation #inflation #cpi #consumerpriceindex #foodcrisis #torontogroceries #torontotiktok ♬ Succession Main Theme (From "" Succession"") - Geek Music
"Yeah I know it's Loblaws, and yeah I know it's organic, but that's not the point," the resident says of the four-pack of bone-in, skin-on thighs, which were selling for $22.02 a kg.
He then whips a similar container of thighs that he purchased from a Target south of the border two weeks prior, for which he paid only $3.55 USD, which he notes is the equivalent of about $4.50 CAD ($4.87, actually).
To boot, the American version also had a larger serving size, weighing 2.1 lbs (around 0.95 kg) compared to the 0.62 kg from Loblaws (which is only around 1.4 lbs). The Target price per unit? $1.69 a pound (~$3.72 a kg), versus the whopping $22.02 a kg (~$10 a pound) at Loblaws.
"They're fleecing us," the man says at the end of the video, clearly frustrated with the huge disparity.
And the tens of thousands of people who have vieweed the clip thus far seem to agree.
Canadian TikToker shows how much she saves grocery shopping in the US https://t.co/z7fvWJGyGV #Canada #Groceries
— blogTO (@blogTO) September 6, 2023
As Canadians keep coming across exorbitantly-priced items at their local supermarkets (yes, even ones known for being budget-friendly), the practice of crossing over into the U.S. and sneaking some basic staples back may become more common for those in border areas, as more and more tout the potential savings on social media.
