They Tell Us Inflation Is ‘Low,’ Yet Food Prices Are Set To Surge $700 In 2021

The government keeps telling us inflation is almost non-existent, while reality says the opposite.

Food prices are set to surge about as high as 5% next year, an increase that would mean an extra $700 in food costs for a Canadian family of four.

That’s according to a forecast done yearly by Dalhousie University/University of Guelph, reported by the Financial Post:

“Canadians’ average grocery bill is forecast to rise as much as 5 per cent in 2021, as COVID-19 takes a toll on supply chains, according to Canada’s Food Price Report, an annual forecast published by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph. This year, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia also participated in the research.”

“The 2021 report expects overall food prices to increase 3 to 5 per cent. Based on a family of four, average food bills for the year are predicted to reach $13,907 in 2021, an increase of $695 (or 5 per cent) compared to 2020, excluding food service.”

That is the highest predicted increase in a decade.

This will mean an even larger boost in profits for the big box grocery stores, while small businesses have been decimated during the crisis.

As noted by Conservative Finance Critic Pierre Poilievre, this projected surge in food prices contradicts the message we keep hearing from the government that inflation is almost non-existent:

“Central bankers and Liberals claim there is no inflation. Maybe, they need to go grocery shopping:

“Posthaste: Expect your grocery bill to rise by nearly $700 in 2021 — the biggest annual increase in a decade”

This echoes something many Canadians have been feeling for some time:

We are repeatedly told that inflation is low, but the cost of living seems to be going up far faster than the official numbers indicate.

This has led some to wonder whether the government is purposely seeking to downplay the rising cost of living, in an effort to hide what is really happening out there.

Spencer Fernando