grocery prices canada

Canadian who lived in U.K. appalled by difference in grocery prices

With the high food prices in Canada, you may be wondering what it's like to go grocery shopping in other countries.

One Canadian who used to live in the U.K. compared the price of groceries across the pond to Canada, and they were appalled at the difference.

"Overall, prices are about 50 per cent more expensive than the U.K.," Reddit user devilf91 shared in a recent post.

They used grocery staples as examples. According to devilf91, 18 eggs costs £2 in the U.K., or about $3.43 CAD, while they claim the cheapest at Loblaw discount chain No Frills is $4.99.

The Redditor found that two litres of milk is around £1.55 or $2.66 CAD in the U.K.. They say it costs $5.34 at Loblaws.

Lastly, a 3 kg bag of pasta is supposedly around £3.60, or $6.17 CAD. They couldn't find an equivalent weight pasta at Loblaws, which only carries 900 gram bags, which they say they found for $2.69 each.

"Also, U.K. prices already include tax while Canada has this habit of excluding the tax in the price shown," reads the post.

They're referring to Value-added Tax (VAT), which is already included on price tags in the U.K.

The Redditor goes on to compare the price of a loaf of brioche bread in the country, which they say is £2 ($3.43 CAD), compared to Loblaws in Canada, which is around $5.

"A typical 500g box of grapes is £2 again (but you can get £1.49 ones), but an equivalent weighed in pounds will cost you $4.94," reads the post.

They end the post with a scathing comment on grocery prices in Canada: "Just for everyone to know the true scale of how much we have been ripped off."

Other Canadians who have lived in the U.K. seem to agree with the resident.

Canada grocery prices are 40% - 50% higher than UK
byu/devilf91 inloblawsisoutofcontrol

"I split my time between the U.K. and Canada. I can tell you quite clearly, Canada is fucking expensive for food,” reads one comment. "Don't even get me started on tax and tip."

"My friends from London tease me because my favourite thing about there is the damn grocery stores," reads another response. "You didn't even mention their meal deals! Those grocery store sandwiches are soooooo good and cheap."

While others say there are a lot of factors that go into why Canada's food costs more compared to the U.K. including taxes and import costs.

According to a report from the BBC, grocery prices in the U.K. are among the cheapest in the world for a variety of reasons, like increased competition between discount supermarkets and more efficient farming technology.

Grocery price in Canada vs. the UK

We decided to fact check the Reddit user's comparison of food prices between the U.K. and Canada.

Since they didn't mention what grocery store they frequented overseas, we chose one of the major chains, Tesco, and compared it to No Frills and Loblaws, as mentioned by the Redditor.

According to the current exchange rate, one Canadian dollar is equivalent to £0.58.

Eggs

U.K.'s price: A carton of 10 eggs on Tesco's site costs £1.33 (we couldn’t find the price for 18 eggs online as mentioned in the Reddit post). Since we're comparing it to a carton of 12 eggs in Canada, and each egg is £0.13, a dozen eggs would be £1.59. This works out to $2.72 CAD
Canada's price: A carton of No Name eggs is $3.88
Winner: U.K. eggs are cheaper.

Milk

U.K.'s price: A 2-litre jug of milk at Tesco is £1.33, which equals to $2.28 CAD.
Canada's price: A 2-litre cart of milk at Loblaws is $5.34.
Winner: Two litres of milk is almost 50 per cent cheaper in the U.K.

Pasta

U.K.'s price: One kilogram of pasta at Tesco is £1.29, which is $2.21 CAD.
Canada's price: At Loblaws, 900 grams of pasta is $2.69. It's 30 cents per 100 grams, so it would cost $3.26 for 1 kg.
Winner: The U.K.'s package of pasta is cheaper.

Brioche bread

U.K.'s price: Tesco's price for 400 g of sliced brioche is £2.70, which works out to about $4.62 CAD.
Canada's price: A loaf of President's Choice brioche at Loblaws is $5.49.
Winner: The U.K.'s brioche is almost a dollar cheaper than Canada's.

Grapes

U.K.’'s price: 500 grams of red seedless grapes at Tesco is £1.80, which is $3.08 CAD.
Canada's price: At No Frills red seedless grapes cost $8.80 per 1 kg. That works out to around $4.40 for 500 g.
Winner: Grapes in the U.K. are more than a dollar cheaper than in Canada.

These are just some examples that show the price difference between the countries. It's important to note that prices at Canada's major grocer, Loblaws, might not reflect other chains or local stores.

We've has also compared the price of groceries in Canada to countries like the Philippines and Portugal and Spain.

Lead photo by

Alastair Wallace/Shutterstock


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