Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise today on the Conservative motion to discuss the actions the government is taking to address food affordability.

Affordability continues to be a critical issue, and many Canadians are struggling to get ahead. Food inflation for groceries has fallen from a peak of 11.4% in January 2023 to 3.5% in August 2025. Progress is being made.

Our government has taken, and will continue to take, concrete actions to help ensure that Canadians pay fair prices for groceries. We are deeply committed to improving affordability for Canadians, and that begins with prices at the grocery store.

That is why we introduced, in Parliament, Bill C-4, the making life more affordable for Canadians act. This act would cut taxes, saving more than $800 per year for the average family. Twenty-two million Canadians are set to benefit from that tax cut.

It is also why the government has invested in the national school food program, providing nutritious meals for over 400,000 kids every single year. Even without support from the opposition, this program is saving Canadian families up to $800 a year on groceries, taking pressure off parents across the country. Combined with the Canada child benefit, that is almost 600,000 kids protected from falling into poverty, and that is why child poverty has dropped from 16.3% to 10.7% since the Leader of the Opposition was the minister of employment and social development.

The government is taking concrete steps to bring down the price of groceries but, for many Canadians, especially those in major cities like Toronto, the cost of housing remains a central driver of the affordability issue. In my riding, the beautiful Toronto—St. Paul's, almost two-thirds of households are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. That is why our government is launching “build Canada homes” to build affordable housing at a speed and scale not seen since World War II. With an initial investment of $13 billion, we are going to be building tens of thousands of new homes using cost-efficient Canadian methods of construction. We are going to grow the supply of affordable housing and bring prices down for all Canadians.

We also recognize that addressing the growing cost of essential goods, including groceries, requires a strong consumer advocacy framework as well as timely independent research on consumer issues. That is why the government is providing a voice for consumer advocacy with the Canadian consumer protection initiative. This program supports independent research and strengthens organizations that represent consumer interests. In its latest call for proposals, the CCPI identified topics such as barriers to competition in the grocery sector and protection against junk fees and price gouging as central to reducing costs for Canadian consumers. Reflecting these priorities, we supported a national consumer movement that reached Canadians from coast to coast to coast, offering practical tools to help decode grocery-pricing strategies and empower consumers to make informed choices at the checkout.

The government has continued to reiterate its commitment to providing Canadians with the tools and data they need to make informed choices in the marketplace. We have maintained the food price data hub to give Canadians up-to-date and detailed information on food prices to help them make decisions about their grocery options. Additionally, the government's grocery affordability web page creates greater transparency around pricing to foster competition and help consumers increase their confidence in participating in the marketplace. Increased consumer choice, investments in supply chains and increased competition in the grocery sector are key to improving food affordability in serious, concrete ways.

In recent years, the Government of Canada has modernized the Competition Act, making amendments that affect how the bureau can investigate anti-competitive conduct and deceptive marketing. For example, changes to the act require vendors to be more transparent in their advertising, recognizing that showing prices without all the mandatory fees included is misleading. This practice, known at drip pricing, makes it harder for consumers to make price comparisons to find the best value, and it hurts those vendors who are the most up front about the total cost of their products.

Furthermore, amendments to the Competition Act through Bill C-56, the proposed affordable housing and groceries act, would affect how the Competition Bureau could examine potentially anti-competitive agreements, such as controls on the use of commercial real estate. The widespread use of these property controls can make it more difficult for firms like new grocers to enter new markets or expand, and that reduces the choice that is available to Canadian consumers.

Since the amendments passed, there have been a number of concessions by major grocers, such as willingly removing some of the controls they had in place and helping to open up markets. This is positive news for Canadian consumers and families. However, food price stabilization also requires the complete engagement of the full supply chain.

Our engagement with industry has been focused on ensuring the continuous improvement of food affordability. After many years of collaboration with provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture, and widespread industry engagement, we were pleased to announce that all large grocery retailers committed to the grocery sector code of conduct. The code is a positive step towards uniting supply chain partners under a set of ground rules and bringing more fairness, transparency and predictability to Canada’s grocery supply chain for consumers.

Last, we recognize that global and external pressures like tariffs imposed by the United States are contributing to cost increases that affect consumers, workers, and businesses in Canada. These pressures reinforce the importance of a long-term, coordinated approach to food affordability and economic resilience.

The Government of Canada has worked hard and will continue to do so to address affordability issues and take action to improve affordability for all Canadians. We are going to continue to work to develop a strong consumer advocacy culture and ensure that Canadians are equipped with the tools they need to navigate food prices and make sound purchasing decisions. We will also remain dedicated to investigating harmful practices impacting Canadians, ensuring continued collaboration on areas of joint jurisdiction we have with the provinces and territories on consumer protection, and working to strengthen competition in Canada’s grocery sector.

Ultimately our goal is to make sure that Canadians and Canadian families benefit from food affordability across the board.

Leslie Church

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