RESEARCH / ANNUAL OUTLOOK
What will food
cost in 2026?
A category-by-category guide to Canada’s Food Price Report. The forecast behind the numbers, and what those numbers actually mean.
A closer look at the forecast.
ALL FOOD / 2026 FORECAST
4–6%
Anticipated annual price increase
View all categories as a table
| Category | Forecast increase |
|---|---|
| All food | 4–6% |
| Bakery | 2–4% |
| Dairy & eggs | 2–4% |
| Fruit | 1–3% |
| Meat | 5–7% |
| Other foods | 4–6% |
| Restaurants | 4–6% |
| Seafood | 1–2% |
| Vegetables | 3–5% |
The household behind the headline.
The report projects annual food spending of up to $17,571.79 for its specified four-person household in 2026. That is an upper forecast, not a measured average for every family.
The example includes a man and woman aged 31–50, a boy aged 14–18 and a girl aged 9–13. Your household’s spending will differ with its composition and choices.
READING THE DATA
Forecast, not certainty.
The category ranges above reproduce Table 1 of the report. They describe anticipated change, rather than live prices. The report separately provides uncertainty estimates based on historical volatility and model error.
This summary does not reproduce those additional uncertainty estimates. Read the full report for methodology, collaborators and provincial comparisons.
Read the original report (PDF) ↗