These 5 grocery staples have skyrocketed in price this year. Here's why
Rising food prices in Canada are being driven by a complex mix of climate issues, immigration policies, tariffs, and retailer pricing strategies. Experts highlight that increased demand for protein and international trade tensions, such as U.S. tariffs on Mexican tomatoes, are contributing to the inflation.
Why it matters
Understanding the drivers of food inflation is critical for consumers and policymakers managing the cost-of-living crisis.
Economist Jim Stanford and agriculture professor Mike von Massow say a combination of factors is driving food prices higher, including climate, immigration policies, tariffs and retailer pricing.
Using Consumer Price Index data from Statistics Canada, Marketplace looked at some of the biggest year-over-year food price increases in 2026 and what was driving them.
In January, the price of ground beef increased by more than 10 times the rate of general inflation. (Bryan Eneas/CBC)
Stanford, the director of the Centre for Future Work, says skyrocketing beef prices have pushed some shoppers toward a cheaper protein option.
"That's all been compounded by the fad around protein," said Mike von Massow, a professor at the University of Guelph's Ontario Agricultural College. "Everyone's saying, I need to eat more protein. So protein prices are going up partly because of scarcity and partly because people are just conscious of eating more protein."
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