A new survey finds about one in three Canadians have drawn on savings or borrowed to buy food, according to the Canadian Food Sentiment Index from Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab. The share is 24% in Nova Scotia, 28% in New Brunswick and 14% in Prince Edward Island, where the sample was smaller. Estimated total monthly food spending rose from $497 in spring 2025 to $521 in fall 2026, while one in four Canadians still expect food prices to rise more than 10% over the next year, even though grocery inflation is below 3%. All six of the top grocery-saving behaviours, such as couponing and seeking sales, have declined since fall 2024, which the report links to possible strategy fatigue. Transportation rose to second place among expense increases at 41.2%, behind food at 76.7%, reflecting higher gasoline and diesel prices, and lead author Dr. Sylvain Charlebois called it a warning sign for household financial resilience.
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Original headline: Canada groceries : More borrow , use savings to buy food
Read the original on cp24.com ↗
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