Including their brandname chains:
- Atlantic Cash & Carry
- Atlantic Superstore
- Axep
- Bloor Street Market
- Dominion
- Les Entrepôts Presto
- Extra Foods
- Fortinos
- Freshmart
- L’Intermarché
- Loblaws / Loblaw GreatFood / Loblaws CityMarket
- Lucky Dollar Foods
- Maxi / Maxi & Cie
- NG Cash & Carry
- No Frills
- Provigo
- Real Canadian Superstore
- Shop Easy Foods
- Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix
- SuperValu
- T & T Supermarket
- Valu-mart
- Wholesale Club / Club Entrepôt
- Your Independent Grocer / Independent CityMarket
- Zehrs Markets
Yes there are other big oligopoly chains like metro, Sobeys/Safeway, Pattison, but I think it’s best to start with one major chain to see how much coordinated action can affect them.
I go to food basics and it’s worse. I constantly find expired food in the fridges and shelves, items 2-3 weeks past. I went to buy fresh English muffins and found them frozen, when I asked they told me they freeze them and then thaw them out and shelf then when they’re low, so they’re charging me fresh food prices for frozen bread. They also never clean their produce shelves. There are stains on the shelves I’ve been looking at for 2 years.
Absolutely I’m not saying any chain is particularly good (my local save on foods has unionized workers, good bread but stupid prices for things other than grocery staples). Consumers need to force the oligopoly to compete with each other. A co-ordinated monthly rotating boycott would be an excellent way to do that.
Every worker in Canada should have a union and it’s a disgrace to this country that they don’t.
I’m a union worker so I refuse to use the self checkouts. When an employee points me to one I shake my head and refuse. I want to be checked out by a human who is treated well and is paid a fair wage, not by a machine that’s just there so a corporation can cut out a worker.