Question Period Note: FOOD PRICE INCREASE

1. Making life more affordable for Canadians has been a core value of our government since 2015.
2. The cost of consumer products like fuel, food, and other commodities, has increased as a result supply chain disruptions, war in Ukraine and other events.
3. Our Affordability Plan provides $8,9 billion in new support to help Canadians in these tougher times by cutting child care fees, indexing many federal benefits and boosting the Canada Workers Benefit, among many other targeted measures.

BACKGROUND: Rising Food Prices
For 2022, Canada’s 12th annual Food Price Report projects that food prices will rise by 5% to 7%. Rising food prices are attributed to ongoing impacts of adverse weather events, supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19, labour market challenges, and high overall inflation in 2022. However, this report is a forecast based on the current and historical economic environment, and what actually occurs may differ.
According to the latest monthly Consumer Price Index data for April 2022, food prices increased more than the overall rate of inflation over the last year. Economy-wide prices were 6.8% higher in April 2022 than they were in the same month in 2021. Consumer food prices in April 2022 were 9.7% higher than they were in April 2021. Prices increased on a year-over-year basis for meat (+10.1%), for fresh fruits (+10.0%) and for fresh vegetables (+8.2%). Prices for starchy foods such as bread (+12.2%), pasta (+19.6%), rice (+7.4%) and cereal products (+13.9%) also increased. On average Canadians spend between 8% and 12% of their household expenditure on food.
The price of food products at the grocery store is driven by many domestic and global factors, such as input costs, marketing, wages, and transportation. These prices are also influenced by the international trade environment, geopolitical uncertainties including the Russion invasion of Ukraine, shifting consumer preferences, and supply shocks such as droughts in key growing regions of North America.
Consistent with Canada’s World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, provincial and federal governments deliberately have minimal direct involvement in managing food prices or production decisions in Canada. Their influence is mainly through measures to ensure an efficient and fair market, and by measures to mitigate the impact on vulnerable Canadians.

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