The same list of 12 grocery products adds up to $71.74 in Ontario and $80.47 in Alberta in NorthScope’s analysis of Statistics Canada’s July 2026 average prices. The $8.73 gap is a comparison of this selected basket across provincial averages. It is not the difference in a typical household’s weekly grocery bill.
July 2026 is the latest reference month in the source checked for this report on October 3, 2026. Publication lags mean these figures are not today’s supermarket prices. Explore the individual products and available monthly comparisons in the Canadian grocery price tracker.
The 12-item basket, province by province
| Province | Basket total, July 2026 | Difference from Ontario |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | $71.74 | $0.00 |
| Quebec | $74.30 | $2.56 |
| Prince Edward Island | $75.49 | $3.75 |
| Manitoba | $75.71 | $3.97 |
| New Brunswick | $76.37 | $4.63 |
| Nova Scotia | $76.67 | $4.93 |
| Saskatchewan | $76.82 | $5.08 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $79.22 | $7.48 |
| British Columbia | $80.12 | $8.38 |
| Alberta | $80.47 | $8.73 |
The national average-price basket totals $73.85. That national figure is calculated from Statistics Canada’s Canada-level prices; it is not an unweighted average of the ten provincial totals. Alberta’s basket is approximately 12.2% above Ontario’s for these products and quantities.
What is in the basket?
| Product and quantity | Canada average price, July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Ground beef, per kilogram | $16.49 |
| Whole chicken, per kilogram | $7.62 |
| Milk, 2 litres | $5.53 |
| Eggs, 1 dozen | $4.95 |
| White bread, 675 grams | $3.60 |
| White rice, 2 kilograms | $9.62 |
| Apples, per kilogram | $6.45 |
| Bananas, per kilogram | $1.88 |
| Potatoes, 4.54 kilograms | $5.32 |
| Carrots, 1.36 kilograms | $4.75 |
| Canned beans and lentils, 540 millilitres | $1.72 |
| Butter, 454 grams | $5.92 |
Each basket contains one of every listed unit. For example, it includes a 4.54-kilogram quantity of potatoes and a 2-kilogram quantity of rice, but only one dozen eggs. The total deliberately describes that fixed shopping list; it does not claim to balance nutrition or represent how much food a person buys each week.
What the provincial gap can—and cannot—tell us
All ten provinces have a published value for every selected product in this month. The largest total is not proof that every grocery item is more expensive in that province. A different selection or different quantities could produce a different ordering. Provincial averages also conceal differences among cities, stores and promotions.
Whitehorse and Yellowknife have missing values for some selected products, so no full-basket total is ranked for either. Missing observations are not counted as zero. This report does not estimate a Nunavut basket.
Method and reproducibility
NorthScope selected 12 product-and-unit series from Statistics Canada table 18-10-0245-01. For each geography, we summed the published July 2026 price for one listed unit of every product using decimal arithmetic. Provincial differences subtract Ontario’s $71.74 total. No item weights, store scraping or forecasts were added.
Average retail prices can move because the mix or quality of products sold changes, as well as because prices change. A difference between these totals is therefore not a pure inflation measure. Use the Consumer Price Index for a measure designed to track price change. The tracker’s CSV download supplies the underlying product values for the geography selected, including explicit missing values.
A report designed to be updated
Future editions will use the same products and quantities when comparable data are available. Each edition will state its reference month, source date and any missing observations. If the source changes its series or units, that change must be documented before making a comparison. Archived editions will retain their original reference period.
For more NorthScope calculations, visit Canadian money research or the free calculator collection. To cite this analysis, identify NorthScope News, the July 2026 reference period and the 12-item methodology; the underlying data are from Statistics Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada table 18-10-0245-01, monthly average retail prices. Rules and figures checked October 3, 2026.
Source: Statistics Canada: interpreting average retail prices. Rules and figures checked October 3, 2026.
Featured photograph: produce display by Scott Warman, Unsplash License. Illustrative photograph taken in Napa, California; it does not show the Canadian stores used in the data.