And it's not just geography at play. On March 4, Canada introduced 25% tariffs on roughly $30 billion worth of U.S. products in retaliation for President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian exports. These Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods include a wide range of everyday grocery staples like meat, dairy, vegetables, grains and oils, and as data for the second quarter of the year starts to roll in, we're beginning to see the impacts of these tariffs on prices at the till across Canada.
To understand how the cost of living is changing in real time, Statistics Canada publishes monthly data showing what Canadians actually pay for a selection of staple grocery items. These numbers — pulled directly from point-of-sale systems at thousands of grocery stores across the country — reflect real-world prices paid at the till, including sales and promotions but excluding tax.
Unlike the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks changes in price over time for a standardized set of products, this data is designed to show the average prices consumers actually paid in a given month, and therefore can be impacted by variables like the brands and quality offered.
In other words: This is what people actually paid in April (the latest month data is available) for essential groceries like milk, eggs, potatoes and bread — and the difference between provinces is sometimes more than double.
We've broken down the latest numbers for 12 essential grocery items, so you can see how much each item costs where you live and how it stacks up to the rest of the country.
Beef
The price of a classic striploin cut of beef saw some of the steepest increases nationally in the past year, with the average price in Canada jumping from $24.03 per kilogram in April 2024 to $32.81 in April 2025 — a spike of nearly 37%.
Beef striploin prices are all over the map in Canada, ranging from a relatively tame $26.07/kg in Quebec to a staggering $47.53/kg in B.C. — a whopping 82% higher. Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan also all saw prices above $44, making certain cuts of beef a serious luxury in the Prairies and on the West Coast.
Here's the average price of beef striploin (per kilogram) in each province as of April 2025:
- Quebec: $26.07
- Ontario: $31.88
- New Brunswick: $34.35
- Nova Scotia: $35.05
- Newfoundland and Labrador: $37.86
- Saskatchewan: $41.00
- Prince Edward Island: $41.53
- Manitoba: $44.70
- Alberta: $45.70
- British Columbia: $47.53
Chicken
Poultry remains one of the more affordable meats in Canada. While the national average for chicken breasts came in at $13.51 per kilo, prices still range by over $4/kg across the country. Quebec has the cheapest average, while in Alberta it's an eye-watering 37% more expensive.
Here's how much you can expect to pay for a kilogram of chicken breasts across Canada:
- Quebec: $12.54
- Ontario: $12.90
- New Brunswick: $15.25
- Nova Scotia: $16.06
- Newfoundland and Labrador: $14.88
- Prince Edward Island: $15.81
- Manitoba: $16.49
- Saskatchewan: $16.64
- British Columbia: $17.07
- Alberta: $17.15
Milk
The price of milk in Canada can vary widely depending on what container size you buy, but looking at a 1-litre carton, Ontario has the priciest milk in Canada at $3.82 — nearly double the $2.00 average in Manitoba.
It's also significantly higher than prices in provinces like Quebec and Saskatchewan, both of which are well below the national average of $3.06.
Here's the average price for a 1-litre carton of milk in April 2025:
- Manitoba: $2.00
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New Brunswick: $2.72
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Prince Edward Island: $2.81
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Quebec: $2.84
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Saskatchewan: $2.88
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Alberta: $2.99
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British Columbia: $3.02
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Nova Scotia: $3.12
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $3.64
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Ontario: $3.82
Butter
Butter was one of the most stable items on this month's list, with less than a 10% difference between the cheapest province (Ontario at $5.45) and the most expensive (Newfoundland and Labrador at $5.97).
It's also one of the few products that has actually seen a decrease in price year-over-year — last April, the national average was hovering around $5.91 for a pound, and it's since come down to $5.55.
Here's how much a pound of butter costs from coast to coast:
- Ontario: $5.45
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Quebec: $5.49
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Prince Edward Island: $5.60
- Manitoba: $5.62
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Saskatchewan: $5.62
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Nova Scotia: $5.70
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New Brunswick: $5.73
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British Columbia: $5.74
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Alberta: $5.79
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $5.97
Eggs
Eggs saw a modest but noticeable gap — 19% between the low of $4.64 in Quebec and the high of $5.51 in B.C. Alberta and the Atlantic provinces also came in above the national average of $4.92.
Here's how much a dozen eggs will cost you in each Canadian province:
- Quebec: $4.64
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Saskatchewan: $4.70
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Manitoba: $4.70
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Ontario: $4.82
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Alberta: $5.08
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New Brunswick: $5.33
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Prince Edward Island: $5.37
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $5.44
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Nova Scotia: $5.45
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British Columbia: $5.51
Apples
Apple prices have climbed by about 15% year-over-year in most parts of Canada, averaging $5.85 per kilogram in April. Newfoundland and Labrador is now the most expensive province at $6.72 per kilogram — 23% higher than Quebec, which has the best deal at $5.45.
Here's the average price, per kilo, of apples across Canada:
- Quebec: $5.45
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Ontario: $5.86
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Manitoba: $6.02
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British Columbia: $6.02
- Alberta: $6.09
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Saskatchewan: $6.09
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Nova Scotia: $6.25
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Prince Edward Island: $6.26
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New Brunswick: $6.46
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $6.72
Bananas
This popular fruit has stayed steady in price over the last year on average (around $1.66/kg nationally) — although prices still vary a lot across the country.
Ontario wins the banana race, averaging just $1.49 per kilo in April. By contrast, Newfoundlanders are paying $2.18 — and while 69 cents might not seem like much, it can add up when it's a 46% difference.
Here's how much a kilogram of bananas will set you back, depending on where you are in Canada:
- Ontario: $1.49
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British Columbia: $1.63
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Manitoba: $1.76
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Saskatchewan: $1.76
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Quebec: $1.77
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Alberta: $1.78
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Prince Edward Island: $2.05
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New Brunswick: $2.07
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Nova Scotia: $2.07
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $2.18
Potatoes
Root vegetables are often touted as budget-friendly, averaging around $4.71 for a 10-pound bag in April — which is actually down 19% from the same time last year. But apparently this trend doesn't extend to the Prairies.
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba saw the highest prices at nearly $8, while Quebec came in at just $3.66. That's a mind-boggling 117% difference for the same quantity of potatoes.
Here's how the prices shook out for 4.54 kg (10 lb) of potatoes in April:
- Quebec: $3.66
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Ontario: $4.48
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Nova Scotia: $5.33
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New Brunswick: $5.39
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Prince Edward Island: $5.62
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $6.20
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British Columbia: $7.66
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Manitoba: $7.80
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Saskatchewan: $7.83
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Alberta: $7.96
Tomatoes
Tomatoes followed a similar trend as other fresh produce — lower in Central Canada, higher in the Atlantic and Western provinces. The difference from Ontario ($4.47) to Newfoundland and Labrador ($6.60) was 48%, and almost every province fell above the national average of $4.69.
- Ontario: $4.47
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Manitoba: $4.65
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Quebec: $4.72
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Saskatchewan: $4.87
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Alberta: $4.83
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British Columbia: $4.93
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Nova Scotia: $5.68
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New Brunswick: $5.75
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Prince Edward Island: $5.87
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $6.60
Bread
Bread prices don't swing quite as dramatically as some other staples, but Ontario is still the best place to pick up a cheap loaf at $3.06 — while Newfoundland and Labrador is still 29% more expensive at just under $4.
The national average for a 675-gram loaf of white bread was $3.48 in April — here's what it cost by province:
- Ontario: $3.06
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Manitoba: $3.23
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Saskatchewan: $3.32
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Alberta: $3.44
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Nova Scotia: $3.60
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Prince Edward Island: $3.64
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New Brunswick: $3.74
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British Columbia: $3.81
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Quebec: $3.87
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Newfoundland and Labrador: $3.94
Rice
This staple showed a surprising 34% price difference across provinces, with Manitoba averaging just $8.22 for a 2-kilogram bag of white rice, while Quebec broke $11 — an unexpected showing from a province that's typically among the most affordable for grocery staples.
Here's how much 2 kilograms of white rice costs on average from coast to coast:
- Manitoba: $8.22
- Saskatchewan: $8.51
- Alberta: $9.14
- British Columbia: $9.16
- Ontario: $9.44
- Prince Edward Island: $10.24
- Newfoundland and Labrador: $10.63
- New Brunswick: $10.66
- Nova Scotia: $10.94
- Quebec: $11.03
Vegetable oil
Despite cooking oils being a heavily tariffed category, the price of a 3-litre container of vegetable oil has actually come down by around 18% nationally over the last year.
Ontario stood alone as the only province under $8 for 3 litres, while Saskatchewan came in highest at $11.31 — a 41% difference.
Here's the average price for a 3-litre container of vegetable oil in April 2025:
- Ontario: $7.99
- Quebec: $8.73
- Newfoundland and Labrador: $9.65
- Nova Scotia: $10.73
- New Brunswick: $10.90
- Manitoba: $10.97
- Prince Edward Island: $11.15
- Alberta: $11.17
- British Columbia: $11.22
- Saskatchewan: $11.31
Total basket cost
So how much are Canadians spending for all 12 of these essentials combined? The numbers vary — a lot.
Nationally, the average price of all 12 items is $98.68 — about 8% higher than it was last April. This is despite a consumer price index (CPI) increase of just 1.7% for that same period, showing that the price of grocery essentials seems to be rising much faster than most other goods.
Here's how much the full basket costs in each province:
- Quebec: $90.81
- Ontario: $95.66
- New Brunswick: $108.35
- Nova Scotia: $109.98
- Newfoundland and Labrador: $113.71
- Saskatchewan: $114.53
- Prince Edward Island: $115.95
- Manitoba: $116.16
- Alberta: $121.12
- British Columbia: $123.30
So whether you're stocking up on staples or just trying to stretch your weekly grocery budget, it's clear that where you live in Canada can make a big difference — especially as the effects of tariffs continue to ripple through the aisles.
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