NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, standing at the Parkdale Food Centre in Ottawa on Saturday morning, delivered a clear message to Canadians: when corporate grocery giants drive up prices and pad their profits, the NDP will step in to protect families and make food affordable again.
“People are doing everything they can to make ends meet—and they’re being squeezed from every side,” said Singh. “Meanwhile, grocery chains are making billions off your weekly shopping. It’s not fair, and only the NDP will stop them.”
Singh announced the NDP government would introduce emergency price caps on basic food items—like pasta, frozen vegetables, and infant formula—to keep costs of food down. These items have seen some of the steepest increases since 2020: cooking oil is up 75 percent, pasta is up 43 percent, and infant formula—an essential for so many parents—is up 30 percent and still climbing.
“These big grocers aren’t struggling—they’re thriving,” said Singh. “While you’re making sacrifices, they’re making a fortune.”
Singh added that on one side, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he’s fighting for working people—but when it comes to grocery prices, he’s fighting for the CEOs. He’s surrounded by insiders who’ve lobbied for Loblaws and Walmart, and he refuses to hold grocery giants accountable while they rake in record profits. He talks a big game about affordability, but when families need real help, he sides with the corporations driving prices up. Economists believe that U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war will also drive grocery inflation.
He said that under the Liberals, food prices have continued to climb while grocery companies post record profits. When the NDP pushed for a GST break on groceries, it worked, ultimately lowering prices for the first time in years. Liberal Leader Mark Carney let it expire, and grocery inflation immediately jumped. While Carney gave millionaires a windfall with his reversal of the capital gains tax, he is opposed to giving everyday people a GST break on food or hold profiteers accountable.
Under Singh’s leadership, the NDP said it will:
- Implement emergency price caps on essential grocery items to “tariff-proof” our food security;
- Enforce a mandatory Grocery Code of Conduct to regulate pricing practices and prevent wage cuts in response to caps;
- Fully empower the Competition Bureau to act as a grocery price watchdog and crack down on price fixing;
- Tax the windfall profits of major grocery retailers like Loblaws, Walmart, Costco, and Empire Foods; and
- Reform Nutrition North so the subsidy goes directly to northerners—not to corporate chains like North Mart.
“This is about whose side you’re on,” said Singh. “Poilievre sides with grocery CEOs. Carney protects the same system that’s driving prices up. I’m not here for the billionaires—I’m here to fight for you.”
