Federal investigation probes grocery store competition in Halifax

As she picked out meat specials, Amy Crossley checked her list and thought about parents with young children to feed.

“The grocery bill is really, really high,” she said. “There’s only two of us now; my kids have grown and left. And, even for us, I’m spending $500 a month if I go to the regular store.” 

Crossley was shopping at Gateway Meat Market, an independent store in Dartmouth, N.S., that’s known for specials that draw people from around the province. Fans often beg the store to set up more locations. 

"I would like to see more stores like this that are family-run, cheaper for people to come to," Crossley said. 

Since last year, an investigation into the ability of new grocers to set up in the Halifax Regional Municipality has been quietly ticking along under Competition Bureau Canada. 

The competition bureau is looking into the use of documents by Sobeys and Loblaw called property controls. These are legal instruments that can block competitors from setting up stores on certain properties.

While the agency is mainly focused on the Halifax area, it’s also looking into the use of property controls throughout Canada. 

The ongoing investigation hasn’t made any conclusion of wrongdoing. But it’s seen some twists.

That includes Sobeys’ parent company trying to stop the investigation, and an announcement in February by Superstore’s parent that it will get rid of property controls from its stores in HRM. 

However, checks by CBC found that property control documents are still attached to many grocery store properties in the Halifax area.

The competition bureau says the problem with property controls is the effect on smaller competitors. 

“That is something that can really be a major barrier to entry and expansion in the Canadian marketplace,” Anthony Durocher, a deputy commissioner at the bureau told a parliamentary committee in February 2024. 

“You can't start a new grocery store if you can't get access to the land,” he said. “That is something that we heard particularly from independents as being problematic.” 

Some in the grocery industry say getting rid of property controls won’t necessarily make groceries cheaper. Durocher said generally the bureau believes more competition would help.