Could city-run grocers be the answer to Toronto’s high food costs?
One city councillor thinks so—and he’s taking a page from Zohran Mamdani
The Mamdani effect has reached Toronto, and it could be good news for your grocery bill.
Last week, city councillor Anthony Perruzza pitched the idea of opening city-run grocery stores around Toronto in a bid to get food prices down. His inspiration: the newly elected mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, who is embarking on a similar experiment in the Big Apple.
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Perruzza wants the city to open four such stores—in Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and the downtown core—selling everything from fresh veggies to pantry staples for the lowest possible prices.
In doing so, the idea goes, these stores would let Torontonians buy food for closer to its actual cost by avoiding the markups charged by the three companies that dominate Canada’s grocery market. In January, one analysis found that public grocers could sell products for up to 30 per cent less than the going price in Canadian urban areas.
So far, this is all just a proposal, and Perruzza will have to make his case before the rest of city council at its upcoming March 26 session. In theory, he’ll be doing so in front of some open minds: Mayor Olivia Chow is a known fan of Mamdani, and in December of 2024, she led city council to declare a food insecurity emergency in Toronto by a near-unanimous vote.
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
