Can rebates or price freezes help tackle soaring food costs?
Global News
The federal and Manitoba provincial governments are taking separate and very different approaches to provide some relief for consumers struggling with food affordability.
As Canadians grapple with food affordability, the federal government and the Manitoba provincial government are trying two different tactics in a bid to provide some relief for consumers.
One of the methods involves freezing the price of some staple food products, while the other tops up the budgets of some Canadians to better afford food and other needs.
This comes as food inflation topped five per cent in December 2025, according to Statistics Canada, which was more than double the national average year-over-year price increase for all goods and services.
On Monday, Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at a grocery store in Ottawa and outlined a series of new measures Ottawa was implementing to tackle food affordability — including a consumer rebate.
“We know that many low-income Canadians are choosing to buy cheaper food or having to do that trade-off between buying groceries and paying the rent,” said Mike von Massow, a professor and food economist at the University of Guelph.
“I think this will provide some real relief to the Canadians who are feeling these cost price increases most acutely.”
Carney outlined what he called the “Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit,” which involves increasing the current GST credit to qualifying Canadians by 25 per cent, in addition to a one-time payment that is “equivalent to 50 per cent of the GST credit this year.”
The plan also includes measures aimed at improving food price stability in Canada over the long-term.
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