Our global landscape is rapidly changing, leaving economies, businesses, and workers under a cloud of uncertainty. In response, Canada's new government is focused on what we can control: building a stronger economy to make life more affordable for Canadians. Affordability pressures-especially those related to food-require immediate support for Canadians.
Today in Winnipeg, the Minister for Northern and Arctic Affairs, the Honourable Rebecca Chartrand, visited Harvest Manitoba and their Asihcikan project to highlight how the Government of Canada is helping to put more money back in the pockets of those most affected by the rising price of food, and to tackle food insecurity across a range of fronts.
As announced by the Prime Minister on January 26, the Government of Canada is proposing a new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit to help more than 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians afford everyday necessities. This includes approximately 475,000 Manitobans. The benefit is expected to begin in spring 2026, pending Royal Assent.
Legislation introduced in Parliament to implement the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit would:
- provide a one-time top-up payment to be paid as early as possible this spring and no later than June 2026 (subject to Royal Assent)-equal to a 50% increase in the annual 2025-26 value of the GST Credit. This investment would deliver $3.1 billion in immediate assistance to individuals and families who currently receive the GST Credit.
- increase the value of the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit by 25% for five years starting in July 2026 (subject to Royal Assent). This increase would provide $8.6 billion in additional support over the 2026-27 to 2030-31 period, including support for 500,000 additional individuals and families.
Taken together, these measures would provide up to an additional $402 to a single individual without children, $527 to a couple, and $805 to a couple with two children. At these levels, Canada's new government would be helping to offset grocery prices beyond overall inflation since the pandemic.
The government also announced a suite of measures to tackle food insecurity, support producers and strengthen supply chains, including:
- Setting aside $500 million from the Strategic Response Fund to help businesses address the costs of supply chain disruptions without passing those costs on to Canadians at the checkout line.
- Creating a $150 million Food Security Fund under the existing Regional Tariff Response Initiative for small and medium enterprises and the organizations that support them.
- Introducing immediate expensing for greenhouse buildings to lower the cost of food production. This allows producers to fully write off greenhouses acquired on or after November 4, 2025, and that become available for use before 2030. This measure supports increased domestic supply and investment in food production over the medium-term.
- Providing $20 million to the Local Food Infrastructure Fund to ease immediate pressures with food banks. This supports food banks and other national, regional, and local organizations to deliver more nutritious food to families in need.
- Developing a National Food Security Strategy to tackle the root causes of food insecurity - one that strengthens domestic food production and improves access to affordable, nutritious food.
- This strategy will also include measures to implement unit price labelling and support the work of the Competition Bureau in monitoring and enforcing competition in the market, including food supply chains.
