More than half are shopping around for bargains, instead of acquiring all groceries and toiletries in the same store.
Vancouver, BC [May 15, 2024] – Most Canadians say they are paying more for specific items now than in November 2023, and dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs is directed primarily at governments and retailers, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, more than two thirds of Canadians say the price they pay for five items has increased in the past six months: vegetables (79%), fruits (77%), beef (73%), chicken (also 73%) and bread (68%).
More than half of Canadians also report more expensive cereal (65%), prepared frozen meals (65%), laundry detergent (60%), shampoo (58%) and soap (56%).
One third of Canadians (33%) think the actions of governments are primarily to blame for items becoming more expensive, while just under one-in-four (23%) think the actions of supermarket retailers and grocery stores are chiefly responsible.
Fewer Canadians point the finger at the actions of product manufacturers and suppliers (18%), global political conflicts affecting supplies (15%), labour and supply setbacks (7%), climate change (6%) or the actions of farmers and growers (2%) for the rising costs of the items they buy.
“More than half of Albertans (54%) blame the actions of governments for the rising cost of groceries and toiletries,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Only 26% of Quebecers feel the same way.”
There are some striking political differences on this question. Canadians who voted for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the last federal election are more likely to believe that the actions of supermarket retailers and grocery stores are to blame for rising costs (36%) than those who voted for the Liberal Party (26%) or the Conservative Party (18%).
Conversely, half of Conservative voters in 2021 (50%) think the actions of governments are responsible for the current scenario. Only 25% of Liberal voters and 15% of NDP voters concur.
More than three-in-four Canadians think the federal government (80%) and their provincial governments (76%) can do a lot to help lower the price of groceries.
More than half of Canadians have taken two actions to deal with higher prices in the past six months: buying items at different stores (instead of at a single one) (57%) and switching packaged food brands to lower priced alternatives (52%).
Fewer Canadians are using apps to collect points at a retailer (42%), using online coupons (35%) or using printed coupons (28%) Only 17% have boycotted or stopped going to a specific retailer.
Reliance on apps to collect points at a retailer is highest in Atlantic Canada (50%), followed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba (48%), Ontario (46%), Alberta (42%), British Columbia (40%) and Quebec (33%).
About a third of Canadians (32%) say their diet has not been healthy over the past two months—a proportion that rises to 37% among women, 37% among Canadians aged 18-to-34 and 36% among those in the lowest income bracket.
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from May 6 to May 8, 2024, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error – which measures sample variability – is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca