REGINA — Saskatchewan residents are feeling the squeeze at the grocery store, with recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from Statistics Canada showing the province is leading the country in price hikes for several key food categories.
A breakdown of food inflation numbers from the past five years highlights a turbulent checkout experience for local shoppers, marked by soaring costs for fresh produce, a sudden reversal in dairy prices and some relief at the meat counter.
When it comes to fresh ingredients and healthy snacks, Saskatchewan is seeing steeper increases than the rest of the country. Over the past five years, the cost of fruit, fruit preparations and nuts has climbed by 33.4 per cent, marking the highest inflation rate for that category in Canada. For comparison, the national average over that same period was 29 per cent.
The trend has shown no signs of cooling. In the past 12 months alone, fruit and nut prices in the province jumped another 7.8 per cent, keeping Saskatchewan at the top of the country for short-term inflation, well above the 4.8 per cent national average.
Vegetables are also taking a toll on household budgets. Prices are up 33.5 per cent since 2021, and over the past year, they climbed 6.3 per cent, which ranks as the third-highest increase among the 10 provinces.
While produce prices have been consistently high, the dairy aisle is seeing a sudden shift.
For the past five years, Saskatchewan shoppers had a relative break on dairy products and eggs. The province had the lowest five-year inflation rate in the country for those staples at 21 per cent, sitting below the national average of 22.7 per cent.
However, that changed over the past year. Since 2025, the cost of dairy and eggs in the province jumped 3.1 per cent. While it may sound like a modest increase, it is the highest one-year spike in Canada, meaning the days of relatively cheaper milk and eggs in Saskatchewan appear to be over.
Despite the sticker shock in the produce and dairy aisles, shoppers can find some relief at the butcher counter.
Meat and seafood remain a rare bright spot for the province. Over the past five years, meat prices rose 31.4 per cent, placing Saskatchewan eighth among the 10 provinces and below the national average of 33.6 per cent. Seafood prices saw a 13.8 per cent increase since 2021, also ranking eighth nationally.
