Canadian government accused of giving $25M to 'Galen Weston and the grocery cartel'

The Liberal government gave Loblaws and Costco over $25 million at a time when both companies were "making massive profits," according to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

On Wednesday, Singh criticized the government for giving public money to grocery chains that are "gouging Canadians."

The NDP says it obtained an Order Paper Question (OPQ) that showed that between 2019 and 2023, Loblaws and Costco received $25.5 million in public money.

The $25.5 million in question is in addition to the total of $2.35 billion that the three big grocery chains received. In a post on X, Singh called it a "handout to Galen Weston and the Grocery Cartel."

While you're being hammered by corporate greed in the grocery aisle, the Liberals are deciding how many billions of dollars to hand out to Galen Weston and the Grocery Cartel.

In addition to the $2.35 Billion in Conservative Corporate Handouts – Liberals gave another $25.5… pic.twitter.com/7ggQ0ISKIw

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) May 8, 2024

"While you're deciding what you can and can't afford in the grocery aisle, the Liberals are deciding how many millions of dollars to hand out to Galen Weston and grocery giants," he stated. "They gave over $25 million of public money to Loblaws and Costco while these corporations were already making massive profits."

This comes after a new report revealed that Loblaw saw an increase in profits in the first quarter of 2024.

The company reported a revenue of $13.74 billion, an increase of $602 million, or 4.6 per cent. In comparison, the company made a profit of $13.13 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

But whether these profits will continue remains to be seen as Canadians fed up with Loblaw's pricing issues have opted to boycott the grocery chain.

Singh said that the boycott against Loblaws is due to "the Liberals' and Conservatives' failure to tackle corporate greed."

"It is the role of the government to make things fair, but instead, Trudeau and Poilievre are busy making the CEOs of big grocery chains even richer," he said. "With an NDP government, people will get a break — not wealthy corporations."

The Prime Minister's Office and the Liberal Party have been contacted for comment.