Toronto will soon be the launch pad for Canada’s public grocery experiment
Doug Ford, still trying to dig a tunnel under the 401, called it the “craziest idea ever”
This is where your dinner comes from: the Ontario Food Terminal in Etobicoke, the largest produce wholesaler in the country. From here, the city’s restaurants, greengrocers and oligopolistic corporations buy their fruits and vegetables, marking them up how they see fit.
Now, it looks like city-appointed non-profits will join their ranks. Council recently approved a proposal to open four public grocery stores by 2027, the first pilot of its kind in Canada. The idea is to waive taxes and fees, thus allowing operators to slash prices.
Related: Mamdani-style public grocery stores are coming to Toronto—eventually
It’s already drawing buzz, but subsidized foodstuffs won’t come without a fight. So far, the criticism has been both predictable (Doug Ford called it the “craziest idea ever”) and unexpected (Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington argued that the savings would be negligible). The pilot isn’t flawless, but with grocery prices in the stratosphere, it’s worth a shot.
Barry Jordan Chong is the city and real estate editor at Toronto Life. He lives and writes in Toronto.
