New food inflation figures for the month of January show that groceries are now dramatically more expensive than they were before COVID.
Meat eaters in January 2023 paid 48 percent more for a striploin steak than they did in February 2020, before COVID-19 was making headlines in Canada and the country started lockdowns.
Salad lovers paid 56 percent more for a head of lettuce, and 45 percent more for romaine lettuce, which in recent months, went up to an astonishing $7.00-plus a head in some parts of Alberta, and up to $14 per head in Montreal.
White sugar saw significant increases of 72 percent for a 2-kilogram bag, while olive oil was up 32 percent, and bacon was closely following at 31 percent more. Non-food items offered no relief either, with deodorant up 36 percent and infant formula seeing price increases of 21 percent since February 2020.
The figures are found in a monthly database, “Monthly Average Retail Prices for Selected Products,” from Statistics Canada, first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
The database allows consumers to compare monthly average grocery store prices between any time frame for commonly purchased grocery and food items. The prices are based on actual prices paid at the till across the country.
