Food price hikes will ease up a bit this year with the cost of groceries expected to rise at a slower rate than it has in the past year, notes the 14th edition of Canada’s Food Price Report.

“The estimated increase of 2.5 to 4.5 per cent for 2024 provides customers with much-needed relief from the higher increases observed in previous years,” says Stuart Smyth, chair of Agri-Food Innovation and Sustainability Enhancement at the University of Saskatchewan.

“They should expect to see a degree of stability return to food prices. I am optimistic that the phrase ‘sticker-shock’ will become less commonly used throughout grocery stores in 2024.”

Wildfires and flooding in various places throughout the world and wars in Europe and the Middle East have affected energy costs and commodity prices even as housing costs have risen in Canada.

“The year 2023 posed significant financial challenges for Canadian families, one of the toughest in recent memory,” acknowledges Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.

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According to Food Bank Canada’s 2023 Hunger Count, there were nearly two million food bank visits in Canada in last year, the highest level on record and a 78.5 per cent increase since March 2019.

Despite the rising prices at grocery stores, though, Canadians actually spent less per capita on food in the year that ended in August 2023. Estimated annual spending for a family of four in the past year was $693 lower than originally projected.

That worries researchers who think it may indicate Canadians are cutting back on the amount and quality of the food they are buying.

The average family of four is expected to spend $16,297.20 on food this year, an increase of up to $701.79 from last year. The most significant increases range from five to seven per cent in the categories of bakery, meat, and vegetables.

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“Policy makers, the public, and business leaders all need tools to understand how trends may play out,” says Dr. Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph.

“Canada’s Food Price Report provides a grounded evidence base for discussions on how the landscape may change over the course of the next year.”

According to the report, it seems customers are losing trust in food sector corporations and there is a growing sentiment that grocers profit excessively and exploit inflationary trends.

The findings of that report, an annual collaboration between research partners Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of British Columbia, jibe with those RBC Economics’ Canadian Inflation Likely Ticked Up In December But Easing Trend To Continue.

RBC Economics Agrees Food Inflation Seems To Be Slowing Down

“Food price growth likely slowed again and broader measures of inflation pressures have eased in recent months with the bulk of remaining upward price growth coming from surging mortgage interest costs due to higher interest rates,” noted RBC Economics’ assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen and economist Carrie Freestone in that report.

“Still, the breadth and magnitude of inflation have continued to edge lower on balance. Growth in mortgage interest costs is accounting for roughly a third of total price growth excluding food and energy products.”

Through its two-tier immigration system, Canada allows foreign nationals to gain their permanent residency through the federal Express Entry system’s Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), as well as the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) of the 10 Canadian provinces.

Under the Express Entry system, immigrants can apply for permanent residency online and their profiles then are ranked against each other according to a points-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The highest-ranked candidates will be considered for an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence. Those receiving an ITA must quickly submit a full application and pay processing fees, within a delay of 90-days.

Through a network of PNPs, almost all of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories can also nominate skilled worker candidates for admission to Canada when they have the specific skills required by local economies. Successful candidates who receive a provincial or territorial nomination can then apply for Canadian permanent residence through federal immigration authorities.

Temporary workers come to Canada via a number of channels, including the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) for those who require a Labour Market Impact Assessment and the International Mobility Program for those who do not.

A positive LMIA confirms there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the job at hand and that no Canadian worker is available to do the job.

The IMP allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers without the need for an LMIA. It includes intra-company transferees, those entering Canada as part of trade treaties, such as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) or the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) and those who qualify for an open work permit.

The Global Talent Stream (GTS), a part of the TFWP, can under normal processing situations lead to the granting of Canadian work permits and processing of visa applications within two weeks.

The TFWP is made up of high-skilled workers, low-skilled worker and, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program.