Overview
- The Competition Bureau, which announced the examination on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, opened public consultations with online submissions due July 31, 2026, and said it will hold roundtables before publishing a final report in spring 2027.
- The review will examine three areas: production and processing, transportation and distribution, and retail pricing practices, including loyalty programs, pricing algorithms, shrinkflation and skimpflation.
- The study builds on the Bureau’s 2023 retail grocery market study and uses new federal funding from the government’s national food security strategy, which earmarked C$130‑million for the Competition Bureau’s work.
- Industry groups and experts offered mixed reactions, with some retailers welcoming a supply‑chain focus and critics warning the mandate is too broad to guarantee concrete change given past recommendations have not been widely adopted.
- Coverage highlights specific upstream barriers the review will probe—such as a two‑railway duopoly, concentrated meatpacking where about 85% of slaughter occurs at three plants, trucking shortages and port constraints—which could explain why much of the cost of groceries is built in before items reach stores and point to where targeted policy fixes might lower prices.