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The provincial election takes place on Oct. 24
Published 4:30 pm Friday, October 2, 2026B.C. Premier David Eby stopped in Kelowna on Friday, Oct. 2, announcing a 'grocery guard' to help British Columbians save money at grocery stores if elected in the 2026 provincial election.
Campaigning ahead of the 2026 snap provincial election, B.C. NDP Leader David Eby promised an NDP government would provide “price guards” on grocery essentials. The “price guard” on groceries he announced on Friday in front of the Kane Road Save-On-Foods in Kelowna would cap profit margins on essentials like milk, eggs, cheese, butter, and poultry as well as protect independent grocers.
He said a B.C. family of four is spending more than $17,500 on groceries each year, up more than 25 per cent from five years ago.
“Every week, it feels like groceries are more expensive,” said Eby. “We’ll make sure that the farmers are looked after, but for the big five chains, we’re going to make sure that for you and your family, that you’re not getting gouged at the til on the essentials you need.
” “What we’re going to do is put the same protections in place we have for farmers, in place when it comes to the big five chains here in the province that sell groceries to ensure that the basics – milk, cheese, eggs, and chicken – that British Columbians are protected from gouging from those excessive profits, we’re going to cap profits and we can do that through the existing mechanisms that we already have to regulate the food system in the province, to be meaningful for families. ” Eby added these protective mechanisms exist in other provinces, but currently only protect farmers in B.C.
He said it now needs to be used to also protect grocery shoppers.
“By putting that regulation in place, we think we can help drive down that cost along with a number of other initiatives to help increase competition, to support independent grocers, to give a chance for the little guy to compete with the big guy,” said Eby.1) Price Guard to cap profits on the basics: Set a hard ceiling on retail margins for everyday essentials, including milk, eggs, cheese, butter, and poultry, which already have wholesale price management.
This applies to corporate retailers only and prevents them from unfairly marking up food for customers and from reducing compensation for local farmers. 2) Stop them from blocking competition: Ban anti-competitive real estate deals and property controls that big grocery chains use to keep independent competitors and smaller food retailers from opening up shop in your neighbourhood and charging you higher prices. 3) End their hidden price games: Mandate clear, consistent per-unit pricing on the shelf in all stores. This ensures transparent, honest pricing so corporations can’t use deceptive “shrinkflation” to quietly hide price hikes on smaller packages. 4) Stop predatory surveillance pricing: Strengthen consumer protection and privacy laws to prohibit AI-powered algorithmic pricing.
This ensures big corporations can’t exploit your personal data and market power to unfairly manipulate and raise prices at the register. 5) Support smaller local grocery stores: Invest in local food infrastructure by partnering with Ottawa to build an independent, regional wholesale food terminal in the Lower Mainland. This would let smaller independent grocers bypass the giants’ distribution chains, ensuring big supermarkets aren’t the only option.
“Grocery prices are a lot like housing, it’s no one thing, it’s going to take a bunch of steps to drive down your cost at the till,” said Eby. “Driving down the cost of groceries is not just one thing, it’s going to be an array of initiatives. ” A couple hours after the announcement, Kelowna-Mission incumbent MLA Gavin Dew put out a statement, blasting the ‘grocery guard.
’ “This is the arsonist offering to put out the fire,” said Dew.
“David Eby promised every family $1,000 for groceries last election and cancelled it before his first budget. Life has only gotten more expensive under the NDP, and families know he’ll break this promise too. ”
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