Canada: Home of the Protein Orphans

Canadians aren’t just shopping differently—they’re surviving differently.

Canada’s relationship with food is shifting in ways that should concern all of us. The latest Canadian Food Sentiment Index: Fall 2025, produced by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in partnership with Caddle, reveals a population still grappling with affordability pressures, changing habits, and diminishing trust in the food system. Even as inflation cools on paper, Canadians simply aren’t feeling relief at the checkout.

Food remains the dominant financial stressor in Canadian households. More than four in five respondents say food is the expense that has increased the most for them over the past year—more than utilities, housing, transportation, or any other category. Nearly one in three Canadians believes food prices have risen by more than 10% over the past twelve months, a perception that speaks to the disconnect between official inflation data and everyday experience.

Canadians are responding by adopting deeply frugal habits that increasingly define daily life. Nearly half actively seek out more sales and discounts. Store-brand products are surging. Consumers are switching to cheaper brands, visiting discount stores, and cutting back on non-essential items such as premium meats and ice cream. Coupon use remains widespread. Dining out has become a luxury: almost one-third of Canadians spend less than $50 a month on restaurants or takeout. For many households, the pursuit of savings is now constant and exhausting.

Food insecurity remains one of the most troubling trends. PROOF’s latest research shows that 25.5% of Canadian households are food insecure—the highest level ever recorded. Although fewer Canadians say they dipped into savings or borrowed money to pay for groceries compared with last fall, the levels remain troublingly high, especially in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, where up to 44% of households needed financial support just to buy food. New Brunswick stands out for an opposite reason: conditions worsened there, even as other provinces saw small improvements. For a G7 country, this level of food vulnerability should be a wake-up call.

Changing food values are also reshaping what Canadians put on their plates. Omnivorous diets, while still dominant, have declined by nearly seven percentage points in a year. Rising meat prices are clearly influencing dietary patterns. Flexitarian and paleo diets are growing modestly, while vegetarianism has decreased. The report shows that the burden of rising prices falls heaviest on families: among those who had to dip into savings to buy food, more than half follow an omnivorous diet. Among households with three or more children, that figure climbs to 65%. Protein inflation is hitting large families hardest.

Despite these pressures, Canadians continue to express strong values around sustainability and transparency. More than half now “always” or “often” choose local foods—a dramatic rise from 33% a year ago. Occasional supporters of local products are becoming consistent ones. Consumers are paying more attention to where their food comes from, checking labels more carefully, reducing food waste, and composting more than ever. These behaviours show that even under pressure, Canadians remain committed to evidence-based and environmentally conscious choices.

Trust in the food system, however, is eroding. Farmers remain the most trusted actors, but even their scores declined slightly. Trust in Health Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, food manufacturers, and grocery retailers has also softened. When institutional trust weakens, it creates space for misinformation—something the food sector is uniquely vulnerable to.

One area of overwhelming clarity is taxation. Canadians overwhelmingly believe food should remain tax-free. More than 86% support eliminating retail taxes on all food items. Support spans every generation and every region. At a time when few issues unite Canadians, the belief that food should not be taxed is as close to consensus as policy gets.

What emerges from the Fall 2025 Sentiment Index is a portrait of a country adapting, but not thriving. Canadians are resilient and resourceful, but they are also strained. They are changing where they shop, how they eat, and how they think about food. These behaviours may reflect survival, but they also signal deeper shifts in nutrition, well-being, and equity.

Food is not just another retail category. It is a basic right, a social determinant of health, and a measure of national stability. When affordability declines, when insecurity rises, and when trust weakens, the foundation of the food system becomes fragile.

Canadians are doing everything they can. Policymakers now need to meet them where they are—with bold, structural reforms that address affordability, strengthen local supply chains, reinvigorate competition, and ensure that every household, regardless of income, can reliably access nutritious food. The data is clear. The pressure on Canadians is real. And the time for action is now.