Canadians planning their Thanksgiving dinners can breathe easy this year.
There is “abundant supply” of turkey in the country ahead of the busy holiday season, producers say, but farmers are still wary of the risks of bird flu that disrupted supply last year.
So far this year, one million birds have been impacted by avian influenza detected in 47 locations across seven provinces, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) told Global News.
Out of these, 12 infected premises had turkeys on them along with other species, CFIA said.
Turkey Farmers of Canada (TFC), which represents more than 500 turkey farmers across the country, said it is monitoring the avian flu situation moving into fall and is in regular communication with the CFIA.
“Currently, there have been only a few isolated cases of avian influenza in poultry flocks this season, and we have no concerns about avian influenza impacting turkey availability for the holiday seasons in 2023,” Phil Boyd, executive director of Turkey Farmers of Canada, told Global News in an emailed statement.
Turkey groups say the sector has bounced back from underproduction and inflationary pressures that elevated prices.
“We’re not expecting any shortages heading into the holiday period this year,” said Natalie Veles, executive director of the B.C. Turkey Marketing Board.
“Our producers have gotten right back into business after last year’s case(s) of avian influenza that really had a big impact on our sector,” she told Global News in an interview.
As of Sept. 28, an estimated 7.7 million birds have been impacted by the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as H5N1 across the country, according to the latest data by the CFIA.
Despite fewer occurrences seen this year, farmers remain “very vigilant” in the fall amid the migratory season for wild birds when the risk of infection is typically high.
“It’s something that’s at the top of mind, especially during those migratory seasons and we’re in the middle of one right now,” said Matt Steele, chair of the Turkey Farmers of Ontario.
“Our farmers are being vigilant with the security of their flocks and making sure they’re safe and comfortable and protected from the avian flu,” he told Global News.
Is your Thanksgiving turkey safe?
Avian flu is spread through contact with an infected bird or poultry products. Although rare, humans and non-avian species can also get infected.
However, the virus does not pose a food safety concern, the CFIA says.
“There is no evidence to suggest that eating cooked poultry or eggs could transmit HPAI to humans,” the agency states on its website.
To keep the virus in check, the CFIA in collaboration with the industry has surveillance programs in place that target wild birds and domestic flocks.
Biosecurity measures involve maintaining good hygiene practices and limiting exposure to external sources of contamination, the agency says.
“Canadian turkey farmers meet strict biosecurity standards, and as we move into fall, have heightened precautions to prevent avian influenza from entering their barns,” Boyd said.
Canada has also placed restrictions on imports of some poultry products or by-products from U.S. states affected by a bird flu outbreak.
For Thanksgiving last year, more than two million whole turkeys were purchased by Canadians, which was almost a third of all whole turkeys sold in 2022, according to the Turkey Farmers of Canada.
In total, Canadians consumed 127.9 million kilograms of turkey throughout the year.
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, the industry is working hard to get the birds ready and is hopeful there is enough appetite.
“It’s a robust time for sales of whole turkeys across Ontario and across the country and so we look forward to having a strong Thanksgiving sales program,” Steele said.
How much does a Thanksgiving turkey cost?
Over the past year and a half, Canadians have seen grocery trips become more costly amid overall inflationary pressures.
Farmers have also seen the cost of grains to feed the birds go up that, in turn, translated to consumers paying more for turkey last year.
Shoppers shifting spending habits, but not for Thanksgiving
However, Canadians could expect to see stable turkey prices when they go shopping for their Thanksgiving meals.
“We’re seeing less inflationary pressure on prices,” Steele said. “We think that this season Canadians can look forward to a competitively priced product at the stores, and we’re going to hopefully see some stability with that.”
Prices are set by retailers and they vary across the country.
For instance, a pound — which is less than half a kilogram — of frozen turkey could cost around $1.99 and between $2.49 and $2.99 for fresh turkey in Ontario, according to Steele.
In B.C., the price can range from $6 to $8 per kilogram and higher if it’s a specialty locally grown bird, Veles said.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
