Montrealers react to report showing food costs will rise considerably in 2025

A family of four will be spending over $800 more on food in 2025 as the price of food continues to increase, according to a new report.

The Canada Food Price Report, released by members from Dalhousie University, University of Guelph, University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia, found that a family is expected to spend $16,833 in 2025.

The project lead, Sylvain Charlebois, said food prices are expected to increase between three and five per cent, which is above average.

“Really what’s going to push food inflation higher is meat products, vegetables and restaurant prices as well. So it is going to be a challenging year in 2025,” said Charlebois.

This year’s report considered multiple factors contributing to food prices including, climate events, labour disputes, new policies, the U.S. election, and exchange and interest rates.

Meat prices are expected to increase because the herd sizes in the U.S. and Canada have been the same for decades despite population increases.

“Our herd size is actually at the same level as 1987 we have 15 million more people in this country. Same in the US, their herd size is at the same level as 1951 there’s just no product, and that’s why prices are going up.”

Pork and chicken prices are going up as well compared to last year. Vegetables will be dependent on the dollar, explained Charlebois, while dairy is expected to stay stable.

Restaurants are also expected to be a larger driver of an increase in prices because of increased demand.

“People are actually going out and they’re ordering, they’re ordering in. And so we are expecting more demand for restaurants. But of course, costs are going on up too, so we are expecting a readjustment, or big restaurants to adjust prices over the next 12 months,” said Charlebois.

Charlebois added loyalty programs are something grocery shoppers should take advantage of.

“Loyalty is a huge battleground right now for grocers and I’m not sure people have actually taken advantage of that of late. And so if you look at those loyalty programs, you’ll probably find a lot of money you can spend on food.”

Last year’s report predicted there would be an overall price increase between 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent in 2024. The current rate for food price increases in 2024 is at 2.8 per cent.

As for how Canadians tried to save money on food, over 48 per cent of respondents to a survey by the Canadian Food Sentiment Index said they sought more sales and discounts, while almost 25 per cent shopped at cheaper stores and 22 per cent bought fewer non-essential goods items or switched to cheaper brands

Turning to food banks

The Canada Food Report also noted the growing reliance on food banks. In March 2024, there were two million visits to food banks in the country, a six per cent increase over 2023 and a 90 per cent increase compared to 2019.

Food Banks of Quebec says the profile of people using their services has been changing; 47 per cent are families and 20 per cent of people have jobs. They receive 2.9 million food help requests each month – that could be snacks, food baskets or prepared meals.

“It’s an increase of one million over the past three years,” said Véronique Beaulieu-Fowler, the director of philanthropy at Food Banks of Quebec. “It’s huge for a network of organizations that helps people. It’s a huge impact and we’re concerned by the fact that potentially this could affect the families that are already struggling with food insecurity, but also new families who could struggle with food insecurity because of the hike in prices.”

Montrealers react to the report

CityNews spoke to shoppers in Montreal — at Supermarché P.A. du Fort — Thursday to see how they felt about the 2025 price prediction.

“I always try to get things on special, especially compared to the wages that we earn. So I try to come during night time or the day just to look to see if there’s any promotions so I can save up,” one person told CityNews.

“It actually frightens me a great deal. I work, my husband works, and we can afford many things, but it makes me very anxious,” said another. “For other people, for my children, it’s very frightening. … I shop with coupons, and I look for the sales and the best deals on anything I can find.”

“At this time of the year, instead of fancy imported veggies or fruit and so on, you go for root vegetables that are grown in Canada, and it keeps your budget down,” shared a third.