As Canadians grow more concerned about rising inflation, competition across different sectors of the economy has become a "kitchen-table issue" at a time when the federal government is reviewing its competition law.
The head of the competition watchdog recently said that scrutiny is creating a window of opportunity for action, as the federal government undertakes a review of the Competition Act. "When Canadians are pushed and their budgets are stressed, they work harder to find alternatives to make ends meet. I think that brings forward a lack of options that we have in a lot of areas of our lives that we can kind of afford to ignore in the good times," Bester said.
"The fact that Canada's largest grocers have generally been able to increase these margins -- however modestly -- is a sign that there is room for more competition in Canada's grocery industry," the report said.When the Competition Act came into place in 1986, there were at least eight major grocers in Canada. Fast-forward to 2023, and that number has dwindled to just five.