Canadians’ Spending on Food Outside of the Home and at Hotels Has Nearly Doubled Since the Pandemic
New data released this morning from Stats Canada reveals that Canadians are spending more than ever on “Food, beverage and accommodation services”. In fact, they are now spending almost double what they were a few years ago — up from $62B in 2020 to $110B in 2023.
This spending is also well-above 2019 pre-pandemic highs of $93B.
Food in The Home is No Different
The Stats Canada data released today also reveals that Canadians spent a record $150,000,000,000 on food in the at home in 2023.
This is up 14% from 2021, when Canadians spent $132B on food in the home.
Prices Rising Faster than Wages
We’ve all heard the stories of Canadians tightening their belts, eating less and shopping around to try to save money on food — but it appears as though Canadians have simply resigned themselves to paying the newly inflated prices. Once we account for CPI inflation (up 14.1% since 2021) and population growth (up 5.2%) we find that real food spending is almost flat per capita. So much for the coupon clipping.
The biggest sign of trouble, though, is that wages have not kept up to inflation (up 10.6% since 2021, according to Stats Canada) So, if it feels like you are spending more of your paycheque on food recently, its because it you are, and so is everyone else.
Canadians Increasingly Relying on Food Banks
In order to make ends meet, Canadians are increasingly relying on food banks to make ends meet.
According to Food Banks Canada, a national charitable organization, in March 2023, there were over 1.9 million visits to food banks in Canada, breaking all records for a second straight year.
