‘I stopped drinking coffee:' Maritimers react to Atlantic Canada worse food inflation rates

CTV News

3 days ago

Once again, Atlantic Canada finds itself among some of the worst food inflation rates in the country.
According to analysis from Dollarwise money experts, food prices across Canada went up 3.4 per cent between May 2024 and May 2025.
But data shows New Brunswick's rate increased by a nation-high 3.7 per cent, with P.E.I taking fifth place at 3.4 per cent.
'At some point it was Nova Scotia, last year was P.E.I. and now it's New Brunswick. Unfortunately, Atlantic Canadians are not necessarily spared by some of the breaks that you would find in central Canada or even in western Canada, ' says Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University food professor.
'The Atlantic is typically more expensive than any other regions in the country, with the exception of the North, of course, because the Atlantic is remotely located.
Meanwhile, Nova Scotia faced a decrease in its food inflation rate, and sits at 2.7 per cent.
But overall food prices continue to affect how and what people buy at the grocery store.
According to the report, the price of coffee has increased by 20 per cent, fresh or frozen beef by 12.7 per cent and potatoes by 9.6 per cent.
'The price is ridiculous. I stopped drinking coffee, and I've pretty much weaned myself off tea, too. So, there are things I cut out just because of the price,' says one Halifax grocery shopper.
Janick Cormier, Restaurants Canada's Atlantic vice-president, says restaurants have also felt the impact of food price increases.
'The profit margins are already thin in the restaurant industry. But they're getting thinner. Because of the rising cost of operating. And then, on the other hand, consumers are faced with the exact same increasing costs, and they're being hit with an affordability crisis. So, they're not going to restaurants as often as they used to,' says Cormier.
'And when they do come, they're buying the less expensive item on a menu.'
Both Cormier and Charlebois say the ongoing threat of U.S tariffs has an impact on the stability of the industry.
'I think we're about to hit the tariff conundrum and see higher prices in different parts of the store as a result of President Trump's tariff game,' says Charlebois.
'Until we know for sure if there's going to be a delay again, the anxiety remains in the air because indeed, if there are tariffs on both sides of the border on these products, it will be felt across the board,' says Cormier.
'We're hopeful that these tremendous increase in prices that we've seen in the last few years will start to stabilize, or else it will have devastating impacts on our industry. And we employ 1.2 million Canadians. If people start closing their doors, we're going to feel it throughout the entire Canadian economy,' she says.