The Canadian Grocery Price Index
20 everyday grocery staples, 20+ Canadian chains, one number per item per week. Built from live flyer data — refreshed every Thursday. Free to read, free to cite.
Basket
$143.31
Staples
20/20
Observations
1,866
WoW change
+14.7%
What groceries actually cost in Canada this week
National median price per staple. Week of June 1, 2026.
| Staple | Median | WoW |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | $12.00 | -7.7% |
| Ground beef | $7.99 | -11.1% |
| Pork chops | $4.99 | +25.1% |
| Salmon | $9.50 | -5.0% |
| Eggs | $6.88 | +25.3% |
| Milk | $4.99 | +0.0% |
| Butter | $5.99 | +0.0% |
| Cheese | $6.00 | +0.2% |
| Yogurt | $4.50 | -8.9% |
| Bread | $4.59 | +15.0% |
| Bananas | $10.00 | +1165.8% |
| Apples | $4.99 | +66.9% |
| Potatoes | $3.99 | +14.3% |
| Carrots | $2.00 | -32.0% |
| Broccoli | $2.79 | -6.7% |
| Pasta | $3.15 | +5.4% |
| Rice | $13.49 | +8.1% |
| Olive oil | $15.99 | +60.2% |
| Orange juice | $5.49 | -8.0% |
| Coffee | $13.99 | +7.7% |
How CartIQ builds the index
Twice every week (Thursday and Friday at 15:00 UTC), an automated job sweeps the Flipp flyer network for each of the 20 staples across six representative Canadian postal codes (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Alberta, Manitoba). Every matching flyer item is written to a Neon Postgres database with its source store, region, capture timestamp, and a normalized $/100g or $/100ml unit price.
For the index, we group every observation of a given staple by ISO week and take the statistical median. The median (not the average) means a single outlier deal or a premium-brand listing doesn't move the number. The dataset starts on April 13, 2026 and grows roughly 2,000 observations per cron run. Tagged-staple matching went live on May 29, 2026, so the cleanest week-over-week tracking starts there.
The whole pipeline is open in spirit: the methodology is public, the staple list is public, and the data is free to cite. We'll publish the raw CSV download once the dataset clears 13 weeks (enough for a quarterly view).
What this means for your grocery bill
The national median is a baseline, not a recommendation. Where you actually shop matters more — the discount-vs-full-price spread on the same basket runs about 20% in Canada, which is roughly $1,500 to $2,000 a year for a typical household. The cheapest discount chain depends on your province:
- Cheapest Grocery Store in Canada — full ranking (No Frills nationally, Maxi in Quebec, Food Basics on everyday Ontario shelf prices)
- No Frills vs Walmart vs Food Basics — which discount grocer wins
- Costco vs No Frills — is the membership worth it
- Cheapest discount grocery in Toronto
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Subscribe to the Thursday email →Frequently asked questions
What is the Canadian Grocery Price Index?
It's a weekly index of 20 everyday grocery staples (proteins, dairy, produce, and pantry items) tracked across 20+ major Canadian discount chains including No Frills, Walmart, FreshCo, Superstore, Food Basics, Maxi, and more. CartIQ pulls live flyer data twice weekly, logs every observation to a Neon Postgres database, and reports the weekly median price for each staple. Free to read, free to cite.
How often does the index update?
The capture cron runs twice every week (Thursday and Friday at 15:00 UTC) to catch both flyer-drop days. This page refreshes on every visit, so as soon as the Thursday cron finishes, the latest week's numbers are live here.
How is the median price calculated?
For each staple, we pull every flyer observation across all 20+ chains and all sampled Canadian regions for the week, then take the statistical median. The median (not the average) is used so that one outlier deal or a premium-brand listing doesn't skew the number.
Where does CartIQ get the price data?
Live Canadian grocery flyers via the Flipp network, automatically swept twice a week across representative postal codes for Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Alberta, and Manitoba. Every observation is tagged with its source store, region, and capture timestamp.
What's the cheapest grocery store in Canada this week?
The answer varies by week and by region. The durable answer is No Frills nationally, Maxi in Quebec, and Food Basics on everyday Ontario shelf prices — see the Cheapest Grocery Store in Canada ranking for the full breakdown including provincial cheapest banners and a comparison basket.
Why does my local price differ from the index?
The index reports a national median across all sampled regions. Your local flyer this week may be running an aggressive deal (loss leader) or your nearest store may price slightly above the national median. For live local prices, enter your postal code on cartiq.ca and the deals page pulls the current week's flyers near you.
Can I cite this dataset?
Yes. The Canadian Grocery Price Index is free to cite for editorial, research, or analytical use. Please attribute to CartIQ with a link to cartiq.ca/price-index and note the methodology section so readers can evaluate the dataset.
Prices are weekly national medians computed from live Canadian flyer data captured twice weekly across representative postal codes (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Alberta, Manitoba). Individual store prices vary by location and week. CartIQ is not affiliated with any grocery chain mentioned. The dataset is free to cite with attribution to cartiq.ca/price-index.