OTTAWA — The federal government will issue a one-time grocery payment to eligible Canadians on June 5 as part of a new benefit aimed at offsetting rising food costs.Secretary of State Wayne Long announced Friday that the payment will be delivered through the Canada Revenue Agency under the new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, which is set to replace the existing GST/HST credit with similar eligibility criteria.The benefit will provide payments based on income and family size. Single Canadians without children will receive up to $267. Single-parent families may receive up to $441 with one child, $533 with two children, $625 with three children and $717 with four children.Couples will receive a maximum of $349 without children, with payments increasing up to $717 provided for parents with four children.The one-time payment will be issued in addition to regular quarterly benefit amounts. According to the CRA, a family of four could receive up to $1,890 in total support in 2026, while a single individual could receive up to $950 when combined with the top-up.The benefit will also be indexed to inflation, with annual adjustments tied to the cost of living.“This means the amounts paid to Canadians each year will increase and be adjusted with the cost of living,” Long said.The announcement comes as Canadians continue to face elevated grocery prices and broader cost-of-living pressures.“As a society, as a country, and as a government, we should be judged by how we reach out, look after, and protect our most vulnerable,” Long said.The measure drew criticism from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which argued the government should instead focus on broader tax relief.“Instead of sending cheques to some Canadians, the government should be cutting spending and cutting taxes for all Canadians,” said Franco Terrazzano, the organization’s federal director.“It’s good that 30% of Canadians will get relief, but 100 per cent of Canadians pay too much tax.”Terrazzano said the federal government should reduce overall spending and provide wider tax cuts rather than targeted payments.“Canadians are still paying too much tax and the federal government is still wasting too much money,” he said. “The government needs to cut spending and provide serious tax relief because Canadians need more from the government than a bigger GST credit.”
