EDMONTON — The Alberta NDP introduced the latest portion of their Alberta Affordability Agenda on Tuesday, this time looking to lower grocery prices by creating a watchdog, ending anti-competitive grocery covenants, and enacting shrinkflation laws."Food prices have surged," said Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi during a press conference. "Albertans are being squeezed at the checkout every time they visit the grocery store, and I hear this constantly." "People making hard choices. Moms who don't buy grapes for their kids anymore because they're just too expensive. We shouldn't be living in a society where grapes are only for the wealthy." According to Statistics Canada, the vast majority of Alberta's grocery prices were higher than the national average for most products, including Nenshi's often-cited grapes example, with Alberta averaging $8.81 per kg compared to the national average of $7.58. .In the latest round of campaigning ahead of Alberta's October 2027 election, Alberta's opposition party is committing to measures it claims will help address food affordability. They plan to create a watchdog to oversee the grocery industry by tracking prices, reviewing complaints, and producing public reports. The affordability agenda will also seek to end anti-competition grocery laws used by businesses to prevent competing companies from opening nearby stores, with restrictions lasting for years after the original proprietor has left. "More grocery competition will increase market access, provide more options to Albertans, and ultimately lower prices," said Alberta NDP Edmonton-Gold Bar MLA Marlin Schmidt. Finally, the party pledged to introduce laws requiring clear labelling on products that shrink in size but remain at the same price. "That box of macaroni is not getting lighter because pasta weighs less; it's getting lighter because there's less pasta in the box," Schmidt said. .Alberta Health Services claims one-third of Alberta families battle food insecurity, which Nenshi says is partially because the UCP are failing to focus on the issues that matter."They spent the last five days screaming about whether music tents should be allowed an hour later on a Wednesday night, but they do nothing about affordability, they do nothing about grocery prices, they have the wrong priorities," Nenshi said."While the cost of your everyday essentials has skyrocketed, they've done absolutely nothing to address it, nothing to address grocery prices, nothing to help Albertans with food affordability, nothing to help Albertans with affordability in general.".Premier Danielle Smith and her government often tout the introduction of a new 8% income-tax bracket, allegedly saving families up to $1,500 in 2025, as an example of her government helping Albertans combat affordability challenges. Further, she announced that households earning less than $250,000 per year can apply for a $100 rebate per adult starting July 1 in response to high oil prices that spiked during the U.S.-Iran conflict. "How many grapes is that going to buy?" Nenshi said. "Ultimately, we need more systemic answers to this, and we are able to do these things that have been proven in other jurisdictions to actually work." "So, while Danielle Smith and this UCP government have been distracted by separatism and the wrong priorities, Alberta's NDP is focused on you."
