Canada is confronting a severe food affordability crisis that has fundamentally altered how citizens shop, eat, and survive, according to a stark new national report.
A Nation Under Financial Strain
The latest Canadian Food Sentiment Index for Fall 2025, produced by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in partnership with Caddle, paints a troubling picture of a population grappling with relentless cost pressures. Despite official inflation cooling, Canadians report feeling no relief at grocery checkouts.
Food has become the dominant financial stressor, with more than four in five respondents identifying it as their most significantly increased expense over the past year—surpassing utilities, housing, and transportation. A striking nearly one in three Canadians perceives that food prices have risen by more than 10% in the last twelve months, highlighting a major disconnect between statistical data and lived experience.
Survival Strategies and Deepening Insecurity
In response, Canadians are adopting intensely frugal habits. Nearly half the population is actively pursuing more sales and discounts, leading to a surge in store-brand products. Consumers are consistently switching to cheaper brands, frequenting discount stores, and cutting back on non-essentials like premium meats and ice cream.
The report notes that coupon use remains widespread, and dining out has become a rare luxury. Almost a third of Canadians now spend less than $50 per month on restaurants or takeout. For many households, this relentless pursuit of savings has become an exhausting, constant effort.
Most alarming is the state of food insecurity. Research from PROOF indicates that 25.5% of Canadian households are now food insecure—the highest level ever recorded in Canada. While fewer people report dipping into savings or borrowing for groceries compared to last year, the figures remain disturbingly high, particularly in the Prairie provinces.
In Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, up to 44% of households required some form of financial support to afford food. New Brunswick was the only province where conditions noticeably worsened.
Shifting Diets, Eroding Trust, and a Call for Action
Soaring costs are directly influencing what Canadians eat. Omnivorous diets have declined by nearly seven percentage points in a single year, likely driven by rising meat prices. The burden falls hardest on families; among those who used savings for food, more than half follow an omnivorous diet. This figure jumps to 65% for households with three or more children, showing protein inflation is hitting large families with the most force.
Despite financial pressures, Canadian values around sustainability are strengthening. Over half now always or often choose local foods—a dramatic increase from 33% a year ago. Consumers are also checking labels more carefully, reducing waste, and composting more than ever.
However, trust in the food system is eroding. While farmers remain the most trusted actors, confidence in institutions like Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and grocery retailers has softened. One area of overwhelming consensus is taxation: more than 86% of Canadians support eliminating retail taxes on all food items, a rare unifying policy position across all regions and generations.
The report concludes that Canadians are adapting but not thriving. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, the article's author and director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab, argues that food is a basic right and a measure of national stability. He calls for bold, structural reforms to address affordability, strengthen local supply chains, and ensure all households can reliably access nutritious food. The data presents a clear call for immediate policy action.
