Like the geographical location of the province, food costs in Manitoba are just about in the centre of the range of food costs across Canada. (https://www.google.com/search?q=food+costs+winnipeg+compared+to+rest+of+canada&sca_esv=9e8840edf747cecc&sxsrf=ADLYWIJGC1kDnwT7M35mWpXQbKgnvxkmRQ%3A1736461314051&ei=AkyAZ_7rAuGw0PEPju3XqQw&ved=0ahUKEwj-9Ki-1umKAxVhGDQIHY72NcUQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=food+costs+winnipeg+compared+to+rest+of+canada&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLmZvb2QgY29zdHMgd2lubmlwZWcgY29tcGFyZWQgdG8gcmVzdCBvZiBjYW5hZGEyBRAhGKABSO1LUKgKWOlGcAF4AZABAJgB4AOgAbosqgEKMC4xOC41LjIuMrgBA8gBAPgBAZgCHKAC5i7CAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgIFECEYnwXCAgcQIRigARgKwgIEECEYFZgDAIgGAZAGB5IHCjEuMTQuOS4yLjKgB9aKAQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp)
While Manitoba enjoys an extended cooler season, making outdoor market gardens a very seasonal undertaking, we enjoy lower produce costs than many American states and Canadian provinces, due to our central location.
Our agriculture sector helps to keep meat prices lower and there is less variability across retail markets in Winnipeg than in other urban centres.
Oddities in prices occur often. One such instance involved pineapples from Hawaii. A traveller priced 3 pineapples in Honolulu at $8.99 US$, and, upon landing in Winnipeg the next day, found the same brand and item for $6.99 CDA$, a 40% price savings after factoring currency exchange rates.
However, across North America, prices have risen dramatically (https://www.springfinancial.ca/blog/lifestyle/food-prices-in-canada-by-province).
Manitoba compares very favourably to other provinces not only in food cost, but in cost of living, making the province quite affordable. (https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/cost-of-living/winnipeg-c2939/canada).
Our wages. Like the province, are in the middle of the pack in Canada, but our standard of living is higher than most because of more affordable housing, transportation, electric costs and daily expenses. (https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip-pimh/en/TableMapChart/TableMatchingCriteria?GeographyType=Country&GeographyId=1&CategoryLevel1=Population%2C%20Households%20and%20Housing%20Stock&CategoryLevel2=Household%20Income&ColumnField=HouseholdIncomeRange&RowField=Province&SearchTags%5B0%5D.Key=Households&SearchTags%5B0%5D.Value=Number&SearchTags%5B1%5D.Key=Statistics&SearchTags%5B1%5D.Value=AverageAndMedian)
We have several national grocery chains, including Loblaw’s Superstore, No Frills (independent franchises of Loblaw’s), Sobey’s (including Freshco and Safeway), Walmart and SaveOn Foods. In Winnipeg, Family Foods operates several independent grocers. Mostly, the chains operate in larger cities. Most towns with a population greater than 1,000 have at least one independent grocery operation.