Most Canadians think grocers are behind high food prices

Almost two-thirds of Canadians believe grocery inflation is getting worse, according to a survey by research and analytics firm Leger conducted last week.

Some 76% of Canadians living in the Atlantic provinces said they believed the price of at-home food is worse now than it was a year or two ago. Women (74%) and rural Canadians (71%) also said they believe inflation conditions have intensified at the grocery store.

As far as who is to blame behind the rising cost of groceries, 29% of Canadians believe grocery chains are the culprit, while 26% said global economic phenomena are the reason. One in five Canadians said the federal government was the reason.

A recent survey in the U.S. revealed most Americans believe government policies are the reason behind high food prices. The survey, from consumer survey company The Feedback Group, surveyed some 1,150 consumers nation-wide about their experience shopping in supermarkets for food and groceries.

Supermarket shoppers rated a variety of entities and factors, using a five-point scale where five is “highly responsible” and one “not at all responsible” as to their degree of responsibility for higher prices in supermarkets.

Government policies and actions received the highest mean score (3.86), and thereby were viewed as the most responsible. Product manufacturers and suppliers scored second most responsible (3.75), followed more distantly by wars and worldwide political conflicts (3.42), supermarket retailers (3.40), and labor supply shortages (3.23). Factors viewed as least responsible were climate change factors (2.85) and farmers and growers (2.78).

Related:What boycott? Supplier orders hold strong for Loblaws stores

In other Canadian news, a national boycott of Loblaw stores has been playing out through the month of May, and the Leger survey revealed 70% of Canadians knew about the boycott but only 18% have actively participated. However, 58% said they supported the protest, even though 65% say it will not make a difference in terms of grocery prices. Almost half of Canadians said they believe it is not fair to target just Loblaw stores and no other chains.

It looks like the Loblaw boycott will extend beyond the month of May. Organizers behind the boycott — a Reddit group called “Loblaws is Out of Control” — polled those online and said there was strong support to continue the protest. Of the almost 6,300 that took the poll, more than half (3,700) said the boycott should continue indefinitely and more than a third (1,900) said it should be extended through the second quarter.

Those in charge of Loblaws is Out of Control said they will focus now on educating Canadians on grocery inflation and will try to draw political attention to the cause.

Related:As Loblaw tries to work through boycott, smaller grocers are smelling success

After being a holdout for months, Loblaw agreed to Canada’s grocery code of conduct last week. To rein in inflation, the code sets rules for negotiations between suppliers and grocers and establishes a dispute resolution process.