Which Quebec grocery stores are the cheapest?
Posted December 2, 2025 12:14 pm.
Last Updated December 2, 2025 5:05 pm.
A comparison of food prices at five major grocery store chains in Quebec has revealed Maxi is the retailer with the lowest-priced items.
That’s according to a six-month-long analysis by Les Coops de l’information – a grouping of six French newspapers that includes Le Soleil and Le Droit.
Investigative journalists there compared the prices of 30 items from Maxi, Walmart, Super C, IGA and Metro – from specific locations in Gatineau and Quebec City.
Buying those 30 items, week after week for six months, would cost shoppers:
- Maxi: $3,756
- Walmart: $3,808
- Super C: $3,899
- IGA: $4,355
- Metro: $4,479
Rising food costs
Food is the dominant household financial concern for Canadians, among rising costs at the grocery store and shrinking packaging.
Statistics Canada says prices for food purchased from the grocery store rose 3.4 per cent on an annual basis in October, cooling from four per cent in September.
That deceleration was driven by cooling costs for fresh vegetables and a category that includes mostly processed foods, but bigger price hikes on fresh and frozen chicken moderated the decline.
Growth in grocery costs outpaced the overall annual inflation rate of 2.2 per cent for the month.
The latest Canadian Food Sentiment Index, released by Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab in November, found consumers have changed how they shop, cook and eat in response to rising prices.
About 20 per cent of Canadians said they now spend more than $600 per month on food at home, up slightly from the last biannual food sentiment index in the spring, while a combined 46.4 per cent spend between $300 and $600 monthly.
Almost half of those surveyed indicated they are now seeking out sales and discounts. Around 23 per cent said they tried either using more coupons, shopping online for better prices or going to cheaper stores.
Other common cost-cutting efforts included buying fewer non-essential items like ice cream, switching to cheaper brands, and buying fewer premium foods such as meat or fruit.
Capping profit margins
Québec solidaire says since the COVID-19 pandemic, the profit margins at major grocery chains has jumped from 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent.
Spokesperson Ruba Ghazal is proposing capping their profit margins at two per cent. She says that measure would save families about $225.
“Inflation is a convenient scapegoat for major grocery chains, which took advantage of the post-pandemic period to double their profits,” Ghazal said in a statement Tuesday. This is outrageous and hurts family budgets.”
–With files from The Canadian Press
