Alberta grocery prices have nearly doubled since 2002. About half that increase happened in 2020s

he-goat Demers wakes up at 6 a.m. On Wednesdays and moves to his dining way tabularise, where he testament pass hours on his laptop, analyzing the week’s upcoming grocery store deals and draft reports for tens of thousands of his followers.

Demers, a 76-year-old retiree, spent decades in the industry as a meat cutter and meat department supervisor. Years ago, he had started posting the best deals on his Facebook page for his friends. But in 2022, his daughter encouraged him to start a Facebook group: Demers Meat Deals and more.

It had roughly 65,800 members as of Wednesday afternoon. Demers said he is just trying to save people money, as so many people look for relief from inflation.

The price of a good or service in Alberta — like rent, utilities and clothes — last year, on average, was more than 70 per cent higher than in 2002, the base year of Statistics Canada’s consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation.

But the price of groceries, specifically, have nearly doubled from 2002 levels — and almost half of that increase happened in the 2020s.

Annual CPI data shows the price of food bought in stores last year was 94.5 per cent higher than 2002. But monthly data shows in November 2025 groceries were 99.7 per cent more expensive, dipping to 98.8 per cent in December.

It took 18 years for grocery prices to rise 50 per cent for the first time, in January 2020, monthly data shows. Then, just five years for costs to inflate 49 points more — or, about one-third.

Some products have outpaced the general rate of inflation for groceries, including beef, which has tripled in price since 2002. Although, other items, like cheese, fruit and pork, are still below the trend line.

“Governments are going to rise and fall, within the next five to eight years, based on how they address food scarcity in general,” said Chetan Dave, a University of Alberta economics professor.

He believes food scarcity, which includes the quantity and quality of food, in addition to prices, is probably the country’s No. 2 issue, behind housing, in the medium- to long-term.

“It’s also something that has … obvious policy [solutions] that should have been done a generation ago,” Dave said.

Amid rapid inflation, in October 2022, the Competition Bureau of Canada — a federal law enforcement agency that aims to protect and promote business competition — started examining the country's grocery sector. Its market study notice noted, among other things, the concentrated market, dominated mainly by Loblaws, Empire (which owns Sobeys and Safeway, for example) and Metro.

The final report, released in June 2023, stated higher input costs, the war in Ukraine — the country considered the breadbasket of Europe — and supply chain disruptions contributed to rising grocery costs. "But we have also seen a longer-term trend that pre-dates those events, of Canada’s largest grocers increasing the amount they make on food sales," it said.

The COVID-19 pandemic and, in the past year, U.S. Tariffs created more uncertainty for suppliers, such as beef producers, Dave said.

Alberta, specifically, is also a victim of basic economics, he said.

The province has experienced record population growth over the past few years, driven mostly from immigrants and Canadians migrating from other provinces like Ontario and B.C. As a consequence, the available food supply has become more valuable.

The people who moved here, he added, are also relatively younger, including young families who need to consume more food.

In its report, the competition bureau made four total recommendations to make the sector more competitive, which, in turn, should benefit consumers.

They include encouraging new types of grocery businesses to emerge, as well as the growth of independent grocers and entry of international grocers; introducing accessible and harmonized unit pricing requirements; and limiting — or possibly banning — the use of property controls that make it hard for new grocery stores to open.

Tariffs aside, dropping interprovincial trade barriers should reduce costs, too, Dave said. Building at-scale greenhouses in major urban centres, such as Edmonton, where winters are sunny despite the cold, would also offer more local spaces to grow certain produce.

But if those were implemented, he said, Albertans would likely have to wait years before noticing a difference in their wallets.

The federal government announced last month a suite of food-related initiatives, including a fund to help expand greenhouses and abattoirs and strengthen food supply chains, as well as a grocery GST rebate for low- to modest-income Canadians.

But in the meantime, in Wetaskiwin, Demers and some other members of his Facebook group will keep analyzing weekly prices.

Although his focus is meat, he said, someone else helps with a report on produce, and followers will post tips about lower gas prices, for example. Demers will also offer recipes for various meat items that are on sale, and explain how cutting meat on one’s own can save money.

“We have a pretty good discussion on all that stuff and it's all geared to save our members money,” he said.

“Never pay regular price for anything,” he said.

Demers admitted it’s a lot of work, but said it has also been gratifying.

There have been times, he said, while in town or at an event, strangers have called out to thank him. Some grocery stores have also started offering exclusive discounts to members of his Facebook group.

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