How Expensive is Canada REALLY? 🇨🇦 Grocery Store Prices in Montreal (2024)

[@Aeorocks]

So I compared most of your items to my local Chicagoland (USA) Target, and this is what I found: these items were completely converted to CAD. Most of these items were actually on sale or had a coupon deal, but I compared the regular prices. Target is known for being more expensive, but it isn't much more. Target usually has A LOT of sales and coupons, so it would have been easily a lot less. Organic Bananas come in 2lb bundles at 2.72, so for 1lb11, it would be 1.36 Regular Bananas are per banana, so for about 2lb, it would be around 1.98, so for 1lb, it would be like .99 Jelly was 3 200G Almond is 7.24 Not the same size, so a little bigger Walnut bag at about 170G is 2.59 Hummus ranged by brand name, but most of them were 4.09 Mushrooms 2.59 Salad 4.78 Bread ranged from 2.04 to 8.20 Hotdogs ranged from 5.46 to 10.93 Salsa 4.09 Cereal 5.46 Starbucks Ground 12.30 True Maple Syrup, not the fake sugary stuff, was 10.80 to 76.26 if you want the really good imported stuff Cage-free and free-range eggs ranged from 3.50 up to 10.93, while cruelty-full eggs started at 2.72 Lactose-free milk is 4.78 for the container, as we don't have bagged milk Fries 6.83 2L Coke 3.68 Pringles 3.27 So, in CAD without sales, coupons, or rewards, the cheapest regular price here would be CAD 88.07, while you would have paid CAD 116.45. Thanks for sharing! I know now to bring my own food across the border 😂😂😂.

[@thoughtsontravelandlife]

Well done! I'll pin your comment

[@rrr8945]

I live in Quebec and trust me those prices are insane....i pay much less,must shop at chains and also have weekly specials,IGA,Metro Provigo,Walmart ,costco maxi,etc

[@MahmoodHasand3]

Quebec people earns less salary too

[@kdexter2690]

Walmart is the best

[@shauncameron8390]

@@MahmoodHasand3 And pay higher taxes.

[@azaadkamal6188]

This is not a good grocery store for majority of people. Post videos on Metro, Maxi, IGA, Provigo and other budget grocery stores. Keep up the great work Dan 👍

[@thoughtsontravelandlife]

I don't go to IGA very often but when last time I stepped inside it was even more expensive than this one! Maxi, of course will be cheaper.

[@GR-uh7me]

@@thoughtsontravelandlife IGA is so expensive!

[@nitramxiour]

This peculiar store has products aimed at French and/or epicureans that might have higher prices for these irregulars products than equivalents/seems-alike from regular Intermarché, but they hold the same kinds of deals as other store might.

[@GR-uh7me]

@@nitramxiour they sure do have a lot of fancy cheese

[@yuli4229]

@@thoughtsontravelandlifego to maxi, it’s way cheaper. You went to the intermarché which is an “supermarché de quarter” which is more expensive

[@marie-andreec5164]

But who actually shops at Intermarché? It's like a large dépanneur, of course prices will be expensive. Give me some Super C or Maxi any day of the week! But yes, prices have gone way up very quickly and most people's salary has not followed suit. The overall inflation index for Canada last year was 3,9% but if you isolate food, it was 7,2%. Grocery chains are taking their customers hostage because it's food, it's not like you can do without. I'm sure there will be some scandal that will come out at some point that the grocery chains were colluding to charge us more, à la Loblaw's with the bread a few years back.

[@GR-uh7me]

I used to go to this one. I should've went to the SuperC on my way home from work but this store was so much closer to my home 😅 your options feel a lot more constrained when you're walking / taking the metro and only have a packsack

[@marie-andreec5164]

@@GR-uh7me Absolutely, I get that. They're building a Maxi near my house and I'm as excited as you can be, a grocery store within walking distance, the dream!

[@GR-uh7me]

@@marie-andreec5164 I've never been to a Maxi, I'll have to check them out

[@patriciagallant8133]

I'm in Ontario. I found the prices there slightly higher than here... depending on where you shop. I usually shop at Sobey's but can get cheaper at Freshco and even cheaper at Walmart. A package of sliced ham sandwich meat (depending on the size) is $6-$12. At Walmart I bought a whole ham for $10 and sliced it up into thin sandwich size slices and put them in the freezer. At Sobey's it cost more than $10 for a HALF ham.

[@jacquesnadon1865]

Il faut mentionner que le salaire minimum au Québec est de 15.75$ /heure. The minimum wage in Quebec is $15.75/hour. This allows to better appreciate the cost of living.The Intermarché banner is part of a larger chain that loves the colors blue and yellow... In this chain, some stores sell bananas at $0.69 per pound and organic bananas at $0.99. This week, we find $4.88 maple syrup... canned.

[@tommyflorida9204]

I shop at Costco and cook everything at home. Stop eating out.

[@jacquesnadon1865]

@@tommyflorida9204 Good for you !

[@mathewvanostin7118]

Lol in 20 years. Minimum wage will be 100$/hour. But your bottle of juice will cost near 100$ too 😂 Minimum wage doubled since 2010. And it didnt resolved poverty at all. It just created inflation

[@jacquesnadon1865]

@@mathewvanostin7118 When it comes to purchasing power, it is always appropriate to have a reference. I could have chosen the salary of a doctor or another worker category. I should have considered the median salary in Quebec which is 27.47/ hour. But some would have preferred the average wage of 26.70/ hour... I knew a time when milk cost 0.23 a pint and iceberg lettuce 0.19. My first salary was $3.85 an hour... that was Nova Scotia’s minimum wage in the 1980s.

[@fancynancy2888]

The prices are crazy but are comparable to many grocery stores in the Greater Toronto Area. I have always bought mostly store brand products (such as No Name, PC) to save -- now they are the lowest priced options but still not cheap.

[@guylainemayer5525]

I lived in Montreal all my life and I don't know this grocery store.

[@thoughtsontravelandlife]

There are at least 3 locations on avenue mont royal

[@05Sacredvalley]

Montreal food prices are still decent. When you say “Canada”, people must know that the west coast can be way more expensive than the East.

[@shauncameron8390]

Namely British Columbia.

[@EliasBac]

This is not a good representation of where the majority of Canadian buy groceries. This is where the upper middle class of the Plateau goes to buy a few pic nic items before going to the parc 😂 Don’t get me wrong, where normal people go for cheaper groceries is still expensive. But not that expensive 😊

[@dropthedigibomb]

This is not a fair example of food costs in Montreal and certainly not in Quebec. This store he chose is in the Plateau onbe of the most expensive hoods in the city. This place is overpriced and NOT where the average person shops. This video is a mis representation, Now, that being said, prices are still way too high right now and higher than most other countries which is a crime. But I shop for way way less than this.

[@maudithiver]

I just came back from Vermont… and let me tell you that grocery is a lot cheaper in Montreal than in Burlington! By the way, l’Intermarché is not a regular grocery but a big dépanneur! This is why it is more expensive.

[@spacebearmeditations4907]

I’m on Overland Park ks, fruit and veg would be the same price but everything else was insane

[@ehjo4904]

The instant coffee from France is not coffee. It is chicory which is very popular in Northern France

[@thoughtsontravelandlife]

This is interesting. I've never heard of chicory before.

[@guillaumeleblanc4542]

​@@thoughtsontravelandlifeFolgers would be a good example.

[@nattm6553]

Damn that prices are insane I eat out almost 7 days a week here in Bangkok fresh made food fresh fruitsmoothies fruit and no fastfood or processed food and i spend less than 15 cad a day on food total..

[@DeborahJaschik]

Look for weekly specials at other grocery stores. Most people now shop and buy by what they can find on sale

[@mate6624]

Dan, what do you think of the PM of Canada ?

[@CanuckTechNews]

Hi Dan, I love your videos but this was probably the worst one yet. You are showing an example of a grocery store that most Montrealers do not shop at. These are very expensive prices and this supermarket is catered towards French expats who have no clue about prices. Really a horrible example Dan. Make another video from Maxi or Super C or Supermarche PA for actual prices

[@goodmorning1537]

Only 10-centimeter raining water: Footage of Montreal's record-breaking rainstorm causing major floods and total chaos

[@valuetraveler2026]

Seems to be a case of the good (mostly imported) food is expensive, local popular food is what the market can bear.

[@tommarino1056]

The prices are quite a bit higher than I pay in Nevada. Maybe salaries are higher.

[@Imsemble]

They are not. There are 3 grocery store chains that have a quasi-monopoly on the whole of Canada and they artificially jack up prices just because they can. This is why this is so expensive.

[@iluv2_travel]

nope. plus taxes are higher. canada sux

[@GR-uh7me]

Don't forget the USD / CAD exchange rate. Intermarché is on the more expensive side but isn't the worst by far on the island 😭

[@John-ed1lp]

I'm in Toronto, and even Loblaw's is not as expensive as the shop you were in...Loblaw's is about 15% cheaper...if you go to a Freshco or a No-Frills, costs will be a good 35%-40%...a local store that would be comparable, I won't name the store, would still come in at about 10% less...examples: milk averages 3.50-4.50 per litre, cold meat (same brand) about 6.50--7.00, whole chicken about the same, beer 6 for about 12-15, so more expensive, salsa comparable, 3.50-7.50 depending on free-range, brown etc, Coke about 2-3 per litre, shredded cheese ( same brand) 4.50-6.00, and a package of 12 smokes chicken legs about 14...but overall I would say Toronto is quite a bit less for food

[@GR-uh7me]

That was my grocery store for a few months this year. It wasn't cheap at all but way less expensive than the IGA in my new neighbourhood. IGA is just insane. Luckily I've found a really cheap Asian store and they have lots of variety, I can finally afford fruits and vegetables again

[@RajaAslam-w9h]

Tell us about that Asian store so that we able to buy stuff

[@canadianclub1961]

The store is in a trendy part of the city a lot hipsters

[@naoufaltakroumt6373]

3 times as expensive than where I am watching from

[@milhouse7145]

I never heard of intermarche in Montreal (doesn't look like there are any south of the plateau) but maybe they are similar to independent grocers out west? Carry loblaw products but independently owned and run.

[@sacphilip]

$12 for 150g of walnuts :(

[@tinmiloutin]

Organic, I am sure the "normal" ones are much cheaper.

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

Dan, I don’t know how people can afford to shop there, unless salaries are much higher there than in other in places.

[@shauncameron8390]

Montreal salaries are not that high. Plus, the only people who shop at Intermarche are the well-to-do, hence its stores in well-off locations.

[@Busybeeee]

Are you trying to showcase the most expensive grocery store in Montreal to discourage Trudeau’s mass immigration?😂Jokes aside. This is not your average grocery store. Most people in the Montreal will shop at Provigo, Maxi or Walmart which have the same products at half the price.

[@ginalolli3477]

Why are the eggs in a fridge?

[@thoughtsontravelandlife]

We always do that

[@DAG924]

Is it a Loblaws run store?? Unless there is a sale on the item, prices might be expensive.

[@shauncameron8390]

No. It's owned by some European company called Les Mousquetaires located in France.

[@CreamPuff-ek8fd]

Should have gone to Maxi

[@adamfrank4192]

YOu should go to Metro or IGA or Loblaws so people can't accuse you of going somewhere unusual. Prices are higher in Canada. I remember well in the last of week of June I shopped in Verona Italy where I lived and then next week after moving back to Toronto in Freshco which is supposed to be cheap prices were about double in every case with very few exceptions than they were in Italy idem for comparison with France where the minimum wage is higher than here. Don't even get into internet prices or rents. That is just outrageous compared to either France or Italy. Don't forget also prices in France and Italy have the 20% purchase tax already added to the price showing and they are still half what we pay here.

[@iluv2_travel]

cant wait to leave canada!

[@ppiriou]

My retired mother prefers staying in Florida for six months and do her grocery shopping at Wal-Mart than paying those insane prices in Montreal... It is the same all over Canada. The government needs all the migrants they can get because the Canadian young families can't afford to get married and raise children anymore with those crazy prices.

[@shauncameron8390]

Yet they can afford to rack up high household debt somehow.

[@GJGBTL231]

How much Tax you have to pay for groceries in Quebec?

[@thoughtsontravelandlife]

Very high. If I'm not mistaken it's TPS (5%) + TVQ (9.975%) so it's almost 15% tax

[@GJGBTL231]

@@thoughtsontravelandlife Here in Germany 🇩🇪 it’s 19% Tax but it’s really much cheaper as the prices you have shown in your video

[@marie-andreec5164]

@@thoughtsontravelandlife You don't pay tax on "staples" like milk, bread, fruits and veggies, meat, etc. Everything that is transformed though will be taxed, as well as single servings and snacks and things like that. Like apples, flour, butter, eggs, sugar, no tax and you can eat a nice pie, but a pre-made apple pie, you'll have tax. The list is kind of obscure, I'm not even sure there's an exaustive list available anywhere. And just to make things worse, the Quebec tax (TVQ) is charged on the base cost + the federal tax (TPS), so yeah, that's a tax on a tax my friend! But hey, we've had subsidised daycares (people pay 9$ a day per child I think) for decades, generous maternity leave and child benefits, affordable higher education, free dental care for kids, etc, etc, those things have to be paid for one way or another I suppose.

[@daemoncan2364]

Soft Drinks, Beer, Junk food is taxable. most things that have been "modified" are also taxable. Ex: nuts (almonds, peanuts, cashews) are not taxable. But the salted versions of the same are. Protip: Add your own salt.

[@GJGBTL231]

@@daemoncan2364 Thank you 🙏 very much Again what learned

[@khunopie9159]

I don't speak french but oui ohhh la la c'est domage garcon! OK I speak french a bit

[@ehjo4904]

Ça doit être amusant ?

[@khunopie9159]

@@ehjo4904 non garcon

[@sylvainfrancoeur5905]

i pay 1.57$ at my intermarché for bananas

[@piratecat5113]

Inter-marché is the worst place for real.

[@Medsas]

go to costco lol 😂😂

[@owensigurdson7474]

Montreal is not canada.

[@thoughtsontravelandlife]

Yes, somehow the second biggest city in canada is not canada. Right.

[@Starstreak170]

​@@thoughtsontravelandlifeQuebec is so different culturally from the rest of Canada. It may as well be a different country.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@Starstreak170 While the rest of Canada is US-lite.

[@Starstreak170]

@@shauncameron8390 Pretty much. American visiting Canada get an uncanny valley feeling because it is so similar, but with quite subtle differences.

[@willybobo8846]

and half of that ish is poison lol.

[@alicia1v]

If governments bought harvested and packaged foods from farmers to feed the populace that voted them into office the stores would be competing with government, and maybe only then would grocery chains worldwide lower their food prices, same goes for housing, increase in homelessness worldwide. Nice video Dan, thanks for sharing. 👍🙂✈️

[@nattm6553]

like lao and northkorea and china and venezuela.. well the population is really hungry there because it dont work that way.. company's buy not "goverment"

[@shauncameron8390]

Maybe, but then you would have to deal with chronic shortages, stores having no food to sell and still higher prices for whatever didn't get price-controlled to death.