A boycott targeting Loblaw is gaining momentum online, with what could be thousands of shoppers taking their money elsewhere in May.
It’s the latest sign of Canadians’ mounting frustration with the major grocers, which have been under political and public scrutiny for rising food prices and profits.
“We don’t want to struggle anymore,” said Emily Johnson, a mental health and addictions worker in Milton, Ont., and one of the boycott’s organizers.
Johnson and others started organizing the boycott after a Reddit group she created gained thousands of followers looking for a place to complain about Loblaw and other grocers.
The page, r/loblawsisoutofcontrol, now has about 56,000 members. While there’s no way of knowing how many will participate in the boycott, the page is full of posts from people who say they plan to, or have already started. There’s also a list of demands to Loblaw from the boycott organizers that includes signing a grocery code of conduct and committing to affordable pricing.
The primary aim is to have a financial impact on Loblaw, Johnson said, the biggest of the Canadian grocers. But she also hopes the boycott educates people and gets the attention of government.
Mississauga resident and community advocate Rahul Mehta was already trying to cut back on shopping at Loblaw-owned stores, and plans to fully boycott the company come May.
He hopes the boycott drives shoppers not to other large grocers, but to local, independent stores.
“I think we could potentially see a resurgence in … interest in learning and demanding real choices, not just Metro versus Loblaws,” he said.
Consumers increasingly feel powerless about the lack of choice they have, especially in smaller communities, said Monica LaBarge, an assistant professor at Queen’s University studying food access and consumer well-being.
“It’s unlikely that Loblaws is going to change … its fundamental business model as a consequence of a boycott,” said LaBarge.
But that doesn’t mean the company isn’t taking notice, she added, saying the grocer recently walked back a controversial change to its discounts on products nearing their best-before date after public outcry.
Loblaw president and CEO Per Bank says the company is paying attention to customers and sees them trying to mitigate inflation by seeking out sales, buying more private-label products and shopping at discount stores.
The grocer is responding to these shifting behaviours through new promotions and expanding its discount footprint, he said in an interview.
Loblaw has to keep looking for ways to provide value to keep people coming back, he said: “We don’t have a contract with our customers. They can choose to shop elsewhere tomorrow, if they don’t like the offer that we’re giving.”
Bank says he takes customer complaints personally, and if customers aren’t happy, “that’s something I want to fix.” He added that if one customer really dislikes Loblaw, “that’s one too many.”
The boycott’s effect on the company might not be immediate, but could build up over time if people’s habits change, said LaBarge.
“That’s where the financial impact is,” she said. “It’s that consistent loss of consumers over time, because they’re very hard to get back once they’re gone.”
LaBarge said she thinks the grocers don’t fully understand “how deeply unhappy their customers are,” and the risk that poses to their reputations.
Some boycott participants were once loyal Loblaw customers, like Willi Fleerakkers, who plans to forgo not only Loblaw, but also Metro and Empire stores in May.
“I’ve already switched (to) getting my vegetables and fruit from my local family store,” Fleerakkers said.
She isn’t sure the boycott will significantly hit Loblaw’s bottom line, but thinks it could affect their reputation.
For Ann de Sequeira, the boycott has already begun.
The impetus was Loblaw’s move to reduce its discount level on food nearing its expiry date, she said.
De Sequeira, a Torontonian who posts about food on TikTok, said she’s doing a “soft” boycott of the other two big Canadian grocers but has pretty much entirely cut Loblaw out of her life, cancelling her PC Financial Mastercard and moving her prescriptions from Shoppers Drug Mart.
Loblaw walking back its discount change showed de Sequeira that if consumers “make a stink about something that’s loud enough, they have to take action,” she said.
Bank acknowledged that Loblaw’s reputation has taken a hit since pre-pandemic times, and said it’s something the company is looking to rebuild.
He argued it’s easier for customers to “point fingers” at grocers like Loblaw than at other players in the supply chain or global factors leading to higher prices.
“We are (a) much, much easier target, and we need to live with that and that’s fine.”
Some people are unsure about the boycott — some aren’t sure it will work, while for others, boycotting Loblaw-owned stores is easier said than done.
Both are the case for Halifax resident Tempa Hull. The two closest grocery stores to Hull are a Loblaws and a Sobeys, and she doesn’t have a car. But she knows others have even less choice.
“Most people don’t have the choice, time or money to do this,” she said.
She and her husband are going to try to participate, at least partially. Though they can’t buy everything they need elsewhere, they plan to reduce their shopping at Loblaws.
“What I think this planned boycott is ultimately going to demonstrate is that they have us by the throat. That we’re unable to boycott them because they simply own too many things that we need in order to live and function in society,” said Hull.
“And that right there, if anything, should be the big red flag to government that they need to get serious about fixing the problem.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2024.
Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.
I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.
Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.
Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.
NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.
Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.
The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.
It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.
Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.
Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.
“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.
The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.
“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.
Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.
Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.
In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.
It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.
The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs
It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.
The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.
Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.
Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
