The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released new Leger polling, framing it as evidence that most Canadians reject NDP Leader Avi Lewis’s proposal for government-run grocery stores as a way to lower food prices. According to the poll, 58% of respondents with an opinion considered the idea a poor one, while 42% were in favour. The article reports that opposition was higher among women, people over 55, and residents of Quebec.
Lewis has championed publicly owned, non-profit, high-volume “warehouse-type” grocery stores — likened to Costco — beginning during his campaign for the federal NDP leadership, arguing they could cut grocery bills by up to 40% for most of Canada and more in the north, where prices are traditionally high. The CTF’s Ontario director Noah Jarvis argued the opposite, saying politicians should cut taxes rather than fund government grocery operations.
The piece situates the federal debate alongside municipal moves: Toronto City Council voted in March in favour of a pilot for four municipally operated non-profit grocery stores, a plan compared to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s borough-level pilot. It notes that the Daily Bread Food Bank cautioned that city-run stores would not resolve food insecurity without sustained public funding, and that Ontario Premier Doug Ford dismissed the idea. The article closes by citing failed government-run grocery ventures in Jacksonville, Florida and Kansas City, Missouri.
Full article, including the CTF’s quoted criticism and the comparison cases, at the source link above. This English-language Toronto Sun original was the basis for a Chinese-language republication on 58.ca that surfaced in coverage alerts.