Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accuses the opposition leader of ‘pretending’ to care about high grocery prices

“Pierre Poilievre has been standing up for months now pretending he cares about high grocery prices faced by Canadians,” Trudeau said at a media appearance in Waterloo, Ont. “It turns out that his top adviser is working as a lobbyist for Loblaws. I think Mr. Poilievre owes some explanations to Canadians.”

A food industry report projects that food prices are set to rise again this year. Food costs overall are forecast to be up by between 2.5 and 4.5 per cent, with the grocery bill for a typical family of four increasing by roughly $700 to just shy of $16,300.

The NDP has also been highly critical of the federal government’s handling of this file, including its decision to spend millions on energy-efficient coolers for Loblaw.

“Canadians facing sky-high food prices don’t need a competition between Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre around who is Galen Weston’s best buddy,” said leader Jagmeet Singh in a written statement.