Shopping guide · Live data
When do grocery flyers come out in Canada?
Flyer start day by chain
Read from the date each flyer says its prices take effect, over the last 12 weeks. “How often” is the share of that chain's flyers that started on its usual day.
| Chain | New flyer starts | How often | Regions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart | Thursday | 99% | 9 |
| Costco | Monday | 94% | 9 |
| No Frills | Thursday | 91% | 8 |
| Real Canadian Superstore | Thursday | 93% | 7 |
| Wholesale Club | Thursday | 84% | 8 |
| Giant Tiger | Wednesday | 100% | 8 |
| FreshCo | Thursday | 100% | 7 |
| Sobeys | Thursday | 90% | 7 |
| T&T Supermarket | Friday | 100% | 7 |
| Your Independent Grocer | Thursday | 82% | 6 |
| IGA | Thursday | 98% | 5 |
| Loblaws | Thursday | 88% | 4 |
| Safeway | Thursday | 91% | 4 |
| Save-On-Foods | Thursday | 95% | 4 |
| Metro | Thursday | 97% | 4 |
| Adonis | Thursday | 100% | 3 |
| Food Basics | Thursday | 100% | 3 |
| Farm Boy | Thursday | 100% | 3 |
| Foodland | Thursday | 100% | 3 |
| Provigo | Thursday | 92% | 2 |
| Super C | Thursday | 92% | 2 |
| Maxi | Thursday | 100% | 2 |
| Zehrs | Thursday | 71% | 1 |
| Calgary Co-op | Thursday | 100% | 1 |
| Co-op | Thursday | 100% | 1 |
Chains with fewer than 12 flyers in the window are left out. Regions are the areas of Canada where we collect that chain's flyer.
The chains that don't use Thursday
- Costco: Monday, on 94% of its flyers across 9 regions.
- Giant Tiger: Wednesday, on 100% of its flyers across 8 regions.
- T&T Supermarket: Friday, on 100% of its flyers across 7 regions.
If you shop one of these alongside a Thursday chain, compare prices on Thursday or later. Before then you are comparing one chain's new prices against another's outgoing ones.
Why online answers disagree
Search for a chain's flyer day and you will find Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all given for the same store. Two things cause most of that. Flyers are often posted online a day or so before they take effect, so the day a flyer appears is earlier than the day its prices start. And a few chains occasionally shift a flyer by a day around holidays. The table above uses the start date printed on the flyer, which is the one that matters at the till.
What this means for when you shop
- Thursday or Friday is the start of the flyer week at most chains, when advertised items are most likely to be on the shelf and you have the full week to use them.
- Wednesday is the last day of the old flyer at those same chains. Buy anything you were holding out for before it ends.
- Prices move a lot from flyer to flyer. Our price swings analysis found the same staple can cost half as much again in its dearest week as its cheapest, so the week you buy can matter as much as the store.
How we measured this
CartIQ reads grocery flyers for postal codes across Canada twice a week. Every flyer carries the date its prices take effect. We count each distinct flyer once per chain and region, so the repeat captures of the same flyer do not inflate the totals, and report the most common start day over the last 12 weeks. This page regenerates from that data, so a chain that changes its schedule shows up here within a cycle or two.
Frequently asked questions
What day do grocery flyers come out in Canada?
Thursday, for 22 of the 25 chains we track, including Walmart, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Wholesale Club and FreshCo. The exceptions are Costco (Monday), Giant Tiger (Wednesday) and T&T Supermarket (Friday).
When does the No Frills flyer come out?
Thursday, on 91% of the flyers we recorded. You can often see the next flyer online a day early, but the prices take effect on the start date printed on it.
When does the Food Basics flyer come out?
Thursday, on 100% of the flyers we recorded. Food Basics operates in Ontario, so this is an Ontario schedule.
When does the Walmart flyer start?
Thursday, on 99% of the flyers we recorded, the same day as most supermarket flyers.
When does the Costco flyer change?
Costco's savings start on a Monday, on 94% of the flyers we recorded, which makes it the main exception to the Thursday pattern.
What is the best day to buy groceries in Canada?
For flyer deals, the first day or two of the flyer week, which for most chains means Thursday or Friday. Advertised items are most likely to still be on the shelf, and you get the whole week to use them. Wednesday is the last day of the old flyer at most chains, so anything you meant to buy on sale should be bought by then.
How did you work out the start days?
Every flyer we read carries the date its prices take effect. We count each distinct flyer once per chain and region over the last 12 weeks and report the most common start day, along with how often the chain used it.
See the new flyers' best deals in one place
CartIQ reads this week's flyers from 30+ Canadian chains for your postal code. Free, no signup.
Check this week's deals →Related
Start days come from the validity dates printed on Canadian retailer flyers, generated live from CartIQ's flyer database. Individual stores and holiday weeks can differ. CartIQ is not affiliated with any retailer named on this page.