NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh makes campaign-style stop in Nanaimo to push for lower grocery prices
As grocery store prices continue to take a major bite out of most people's budgets, federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was in Nanaimo Monday, taking aim at that grocery store sticker shock.
“At a time when Canadians are having the most difficulty ever buying groceries, the fact that grocery stores have chosen that time to increase their margins is evidence of greed,” said Singh from Maffeo Sutton Park.
In July, the Liberal government rolled out one-time rebates of several hundred dollars to some 11 million eligible Canadians -- essentially a rebranded GST rebate aimed at offsetting the cost of food.
Singh said more help is needed, and pointed to greater transparency about stores’ profits and increasing competition to drive down prices.
“There’s lots of ways to put in place an excess profit tax, we've looked at lots of countries that have done so,” said Singh.
University of Victoria business professor Mark Colgate says high grocery costs are especially acute on Vancouver Island – and cites a couple of reasons for that.
“There is just a very small number of major grocery stores on the Island -- less than you would see on the Lower Mainland, and when you have higher transportation costs and less competition, that’s going to lead to higher prices,” said Colgate.
Singh’s appearance and campaign-style pledge came on traditional NDP turf that he wants to protect, said political scientist Hamish Telford.
“He doesn’t want to give any free ground to the Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre -- who have been riding high in the polls,” said The University of Fraser Valley professor. “This is in part a defensive move by Jagmeet Singh.”
Also on Monday, Prime Minister Trudeau visited a farmer's store -- where he vowed to prioritize affordability when parliament resumes in the fall, and Singh’s Nanaimo appearance comes as Poilievre has surged in the polls -- hammering the Trudeau government about inflation and housing prices.
“Food inflation is still running very high -- and so he wants to capitalize on that vis a vis the government -- as well as against the Conservatives,” said Telford.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.