Ontario may finally be getting a new grocery chain to compete with Loblaws
Residents of Ontario and Canada at large are limited to few choices when it comes to airlines, telecom providers, and grocery stores (among other things), but the latter may finally be changing with the introduction of new players to the sector.
This week, Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry shared that in an effort to bring much-needed competition to Canada's supermarket scene, he has been liaising with international chains that haven't yet set up shop in Canada — and trying to convince them to consider doing so.
In speaking with the Star on Wednesday, Minister François-Philippe Champagne said that he will "be working with anyone who wants to consider it," adding that Canada hasn't had a new addition of this kind to its market "for a long, long time" but that there has been more of a push for it recently.
Canada needs more competition in grocery store industry federal watchdog finds https://t.co/sfZiE1a4lO #Canada #Grocery
— blogTO (@blogTO) June 27, 2023
This is, of course, due to the unaffordability so many in the country are facing when shopping for basic necessities, with countless stories of outrageous pricing at Loblaws, Metro and Sobey's, which are the main grocers in Canada, along with Walmart.
And, executives have said that things are only going to get worse for consumers.
Last week, Lobaw Companies Inc. chair Galen Weston said costs will be passed down to shoppers if Ottawa tries to impose more rules on the industry through a Grocery Code of Conduct, while Dollarama CEO Neil Rossy said just yesterday that suppliers' inflated prices are about to do the same.
Mysterious signs calling out Loblaw's excessive profits appear outside Toronto store https://t.co/SlyrAChXnQ #Toronto #Loblaws
— blogTO (@blogTO) July 28, 2023
But, the public has been calling out grocers' record-breaking profits in recent quarters, finding it suspicious that they are making so much more while prices are going up — and while grocery inflation has somehow managed to outpace the headline inflation rate, increasing at the fastest pace in 41 years.
Various pieces of legislation such as the Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act, the Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, and updates to the Competition Act that Champagne has championed could change that, along with bringing in new retailers.
