Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Chartrand Unveils New Canada Groceries Benefit
Our global landscape is rapidly changing, leaving economies, businesses, and workers under a cloud of uncertainty. In response, Canada's new government is focused on what we can control: building a stronger economy to make life more affordable for Canadians. Affordability pressures-especially those related to food-require immediate support for Canadians.
Today in Winnipeg, the Minister for Northern and Arctic Affairs, the Honourable Rebecca Chartrand, visited Harvest Manitoba and their Asihcikan project to highlight how the Government of Canada is helping to put more money back in the pockets of those most affected by the rising price of food, and to tackle food insecurity across a range of fronts.
As announced by the Prime Minister on January 26, the Government of Canada is proposing a new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit to help more than 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians afford everyday necessities. This includes approximately 475,000 Manitobans. The benefit is expected to begin in spring 2026, pending Royal Assent.
Legislation introduced in Parliament to implement the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit would:
Taken together, these measures would provide up to an additional $402 to a single individual without children, $527 to a couple, and $805 to a couple with two children. At these levels, Canada's new government would be helping to offset grocery prices beyond overall inflation since the pandemic.
Other federal programs also continue to address the challenges of grocery costs and food affordability. Nutrition North Canada works with trusted delivery partners, such as Harvest Manitoba, to help lower the cost of transporting and distributing nutritious food and essential goods to eligible northern communities, including 16 isolated communities in northern Manitoba. Food banks serving remote areas can also access the Nutrition North Canada subsidy. Isolated communities have further support through the Harvesters Support Grant and the Community Food Programs Fund, which help strengthen local and traditional food production, including through investments in food harvesting and storage infrastructure.
The government also announced a suite of measures to tackle food insecurity, support producers and strengthen supply chains, including:
https://www.canada.ca/en/crown-indigenous-relations-northern-affairs/news/2026/01/minister-rebecca-chartrand-highlights-the-new-canada-groceries-and-essentials-benefit.html
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