corbyn10

To Everyone

What is the most popular shop in Canada to buy food?

In Canada do they have a WALMART?

Hope you can reply

taira

I shop at a 'chain store' called "FoodBasics" and also at the A&P and also at a Bulk Barn which is also a 'chain' store. Food Basics I find has many good deals and meat is reasonable though A & P is a little more expensive and has the best seafood. When I was out west Thrifties was the name of the food shop most people I knew and me shopped at. Bulk Barn sells things like sugar and flours and cereals and baking supplies and such in 'bulk' so its excellent for herbs and spices where you can get just a little of whatever it is you need for only a few cents.

Yes, there is Wallmart in most cities. Also a Zellers which is comparable for things like shoes, blankets and clothes and stuff, Canadian Tire which is comparable in the house-wares side of things and Sears which is a little more expensive but has about the best return policies for things like sewing machines and such.

ck1

I live in Ontario and No Frills is pretty good..but basic..also Fortino's is good..a little more expensive but better variety.....

MikeUK

There's loads to choose from depending on your province..

They is also a wide range in the prices you'll pay but it is well linked to the quality you get..

Most major cities will give you a good choice...

My opinion from my experiences

No Frills...... cheap and for a reason
A&P.............Good fresh food at a fair price
Fortinos.......More expensive but great selection
Loblaws.......As above.

Walmart.......Full of weird people from the out of the 70's


But don't forget to look for the downtown markets...
London ON.... Covent Garden Market
Toronto ON... St Lawrance Market
Vancover BC.. Granville Market

These places are a pleasure to shop in if you love cooking

crazydaisy

I like Safeway's as they have some US stuff and some UK stuff and of course some wonderful Canadian produce. The in-store bakery makes fantastic hot cross buns, scones and french bread too. We also shop at Sobey's which is similar and occassionally Walmart when we're in the mood for battling with the crowds. They also have Home Depot here and Sears if you're into US stores but Canadian Tyre company and Zeller's, Real Canadian Store and The Bay are probably the way to go if you fancy shopping Canadian style.

They also have HMV store here too!

Karib

For me here in Toronto, its either Food Basics or No Frills, as there are the nearest stores to me. Both are quite cheap and have most of the food stuff that we need, although for meat I would prefer the local butchers store.

Fortinos has been mentioned... looks nice but more expensive.

Pricechopper comes inbetween Food Basics and Fortinos. Pleasant looking store and on a good day, they have some decent deals

wizzard

No Frills is owned by Loblaw group who also own 'the real Canadian superstore' in the west. So No Frills sells basically all the cheapest stuff from Loblaws which is 'no name' for the budget stuff (all yellow packages) and 'President's Choice' which is the Private Label own brand range. No Frills reminds me of the Kwik Save I used to work at when I was at college. Everything is on metal racks and you pay for bags etc.

The other main ones in Ontario are Dominion, Sobey's, A&P and IGA. They all own different other discount stores and parts of each other. It's all kind of twiseted really, hehe.

Zellers is part of the Hudson Bay Company or "the bay" and then you have the US Sears of course.

Canadian Tire kind of does a bit of everything, no food mainly hardware and household lifestyle stuff.

For "B&Q" equivilant there is the Canadian Home Hardware or the bigger Home Depot.

For Dixons or Comet or those kind of big box electrical stores you can go to Future Shop. Staples Business Depot does a bit as well.

For furniture and some home entertainment try The Brick.

Here is a handy website we use at work to check out the competition:
http://www.flyermall.com/flyers/store.php

has the weekly flyer for most big stores. As you can see mass consumerism is never far away in North America.

Of course if you want to go to the best store in Toronto you will come to my store:
www.wholefoods.com/toronto
@ 87 Avenue Road just north of Bloor W
Soon to be opening in West Vancouver and Oakville and with like 150 stores in the US and we just bought a chain in the UK too.

[nice plug eh]

Drew

babsi

We have a No frills near us and as we don't have a car that is where we mainly go to, the stress just isn't worth it. They are stacking shelves at the busiest time, with lots of boxes everywhere, and there is no space to move around and it is busy as well. Quite a bit they run out of stuff, and that is mainly the nice President Choice stuff. Actually the no name stuff it quite good, especially the Chicken Kiev, which is 2 for $4

We get some things from Loblaws and there is a really nice one past Dundas and Jane, lots of space and they have everything. A bit different to the one in Dundas and Bloor.

I went to Dominion the other day (near Keele and St Clair) and I was really, really impressed, we didn't buy much, but if there was some way we could get across the trains tracks we would go every week, what could be a 5 minute walk turns into a 30 minute walk, without a bridge, and we simply can't do that every week.

If you can try Bulk Barn, there aren't many and they are all out of town (Fairview Mall and Scarborough Centre are 2 that come to mind). Very good in there, but I have to be strict with myself as I would buy a lot of things. You buy how much of what you want, and there are lots of different things like sweets, peanuts, salt, sugar, herbs, spices etc etc. I have to stay away from the Chocolate Almonds.

St Lawrence Market is nice, but go early to get the good stuff.

babsi

I forgot there are Ikea's here, when I first knew about it I was very suprised.

We go to the one @ Sheppard and Leslie, and have bought a lot of stuff there, very cheap and good quality and they have a nice restaurant with good quality food. They also have a mini supermarket selling some Swedish food.

Go to www.ikea.ca to see the other ones.

gsmith1610

If your in Vancouver:-

Choices - Good for Organic produce
Nesters - run of the mill (fairly cheap) goods
Urban Fare- Fairly up-market and costly
Costco - Never fails with a bargain even if you end up spending $500 when you initally went in with a list totalling approx $50.

Granville Market is perfect as one person has pointed out. A paradise market for espiring cooks.

ANGIEWUK

I LIVE IN THE OKANAGAN BUT THERES QUITE A FEW PLACES. COSTCO IS THE BEST VALUE IF U PREFER TO BUY EVERYTHING IN BULK BUT U HAVE TO HAVE A VERY BIG FRIDGE AND FREEZER TO STORE IT ALL! IF YOU SMOKE IT'S BEST TO GET UR CIGS THERE!
YOU ALSO HAVE SAVE ON FOODS WHICH CAN BE EXPENSIVE BUT IS CONVENIENT IF YOU LIVE NEAR ONE! ITS BEST TO GET A SAVE ON CARD SO YOU CAN COLLECT POINTS AND SOME ITEMS ARE REDUCED IN PRICE IF YOU HAVE ONE! THEY'RE FREE TO GET!
THERE IS A WALMART WHERE I LIVE BUT I WOULDN'T DO MY FOOD SHOPPING THERE AS I FIND IT EXPENSIVE! TO BUY CLOTHES, KITCHEN AND BATHROOM STUFF ETC IT'S QUITE GOOD VALUE!
ZELLERS IS VERY GOOD TOO FOR THAT SORT OF STUFF!
I LIKE SAFEWAY BECAUSE IT HAS A GOOD CHOICE OF ENGLISH FOODS! THEY SELL THE BEST SHER CARNE CURRY SAUCES THERE WHICH IS THE CLOSEST TO ENGLISH CURRY YOU'RE GONNA GET OUT HERE! HOPE I'VE BEEN HELPFUL

wizzard

You must live fairly near me then because you sound like you are describing the No Frills in Bloor West Village.

babsi

No, the other end Dundas and Pacific. Although we have been to the one in Bloor West Village, which is better.

Also there is a very food shop in Bloor West Village which sells a very nice variety of things but a little small. If you ever go there you should try it, I don't know the name of it.