A mass boycott is planned for Loblaw-owned stores and here's how you can participate

From testing out new receipt scanners to being called out over prices that don't make sense, Loblaws and Loblaw-owned companies have been the focus of many Canadians lately and there's a popular Reddit forum called devoted solely to the topic.

On March 15, the page announced that they were in the process of organizing a boycott of the company and Narcity got some more details from one of the moderators.

"Since it's founding, our community has seen hundreds of ridiculously priced goods, dumb deals, rotten produce and more," wrote user u/Emmibolt, one of the organizers of the boycott. "Loblaw, and other major grocers in Canada enjoy the benefits of a monopoly on an essential service, and force us to pay utterly ridiculous prices."

"Canadians are facing a cost of living crisis, and grocers are a major contributor to this. Vulnerable populations such as seniors, persons with disabilities, and those on fixed incomes are left further behind," the post continued. "Food banks across the country are seeing a drastic increase in demand. In response, our team has organized a boycott of Loblaw stores and demand action in order to provide relief to Canadians."

The boycott itself is set to take place for the month of May in 2024 and it asks for people to avoid shopping at all Loblaw-owned stores which includes Shoppers Drug Mart, No Frills, Provigo, Real Canadian Superstore and other stores across the country.

In terms of what the boycott is trying to achieve, it's pretty simple.

"Ideally, we would love to have Loblaws agree to reducing prices by 15% and removing member only 'deals,'" said Emmibolt to Narcity Canada. "Outside of that, signing on to the grocer code of conduct, and being much more transparent about what affects grocery bills would be great as well."

As for how many Canadians will be taking part in the boycott, it's not clear at the moment, but the Reddit group itself has over 30,000 members.

"We have seen a drastic increase in sub growth; so much so that we have even been contacted by Reddit admins to confirm we have enough moderators to manage the growth," said Emmibolt.

Here is the full list of stores and services that the group is asking for people to boycott in May:

• Loblaws
• Axep
• Superstore
• Dominion Stores
• Esso Gas
• Extra Foods
• Fortinos
• Freshmart
• Maxi
• No Frills
• No Name
• President's Choice
• President's Choice Financial
• Provigo
• Real Canadian Liquorstore
• Real Canadian Superstore
• Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix
• Simplypharmacy
• SuperValu
• T & T Supermarket
• Valu-mart
• Wellwise
• Wholesale Club
• Your Independent Grocer
• Zehrs Markets

"It has been a great educational opportunity for the community to understand how vast this monopoly actually is," Emmibolt shared. "Some folks are taking it a step further to include all the 'big five' grocers in Canada where they are able to."

It also gives tips for those who are unable to take part in the event.

"We understand community members may not be able to boycott Loblaw and their subsidiaries and/or want to do more for this movement," says the post. "You do not need to justify your choices to anyone, ever."

Some of the suggestions include writing a letter to your MP, writing to Loblaws customer support and being mindful while shopping.

On March 21, Richard Dufresne, Loblaw Companies Limited's Chief Financial Officer, shared insight into food inflation in Canada, noting that it declined in February 2024.

"According to the most recent data, inflation in Canada declined once again to 2.8% in February," said Dufresne via a press release. "Notably, food inflation (from food bought at stores) is now sitting at 2.4%, the lowest it has been since July 2021, and the first time it's been lower than overall inflation since October 2021.

"For Canadians who continue to face extraordinarily higher costs of living, this is good news, and signs point to continued moderation in future months," he explained.

Narcity reached out to Loblaw for comment but did not hear back by the time of publishing.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.