Yep, agree with you again.
That's why I added $30 to the bill at the end, but don't tell anyone

You added $30 to a $270 bill for estimated taxes.

My god man how high do you think the taxes are here?

Actually the vast majority of grocery items are GST exempt.

Yes I know the $30 was more of a fudge factor.

Ahh you know your stuff Steve...I wasn't sure which were and weren't exempt, so I asked one of the nice staff (Caroline) and she said "I don't know". So I fudged.

My problem is I'm an ethical shopper. I buy all Fairtrade (have to, living in the world's first ever Fairtrade town!!), organic and British produce. Local as much as possible too. I pay a little more but I know my kids aren't going to grow 2 heads because of all of the DDTs and Paraquats on the vegies.

How likely is this in Canada? I know NS have some great Farmers Markets but how ethically can you shop there?

Why is chicken so expensive then ? I barbecue loadsa chicken here, nearly live on the stuff actually. Just checked and so far I haven't grown wings.

Is anything else really expensive ? I never knew about the chicken prices.

Frankie Zee

Its a controlled market as far as I can tell, like the dairy producers. Plus it probably costs a bit more to raise them due to climatic variations and the logisitics of being in a large spaced out nation, but mainly due to the marketing board I suspect.

I find bread ludicrously expensive, and any sort of curry related imports. Wine isnt cheap either, and you generally have to head to the LCBO to get it in Ontario.

I think its pretty unlikey they will grow two heads. I think (hope?) I would have noticed by now if there were any two headed kids running around!

chicken is expensive because of the Canadian Food & Drug inspection agency... heck back in the early 90's my bf's parents used to cross border shop their groceries (cross border meaning driving into the USA for anyone not getting that term *lol*) because the US standards were so low on meats & perishables that they could sell really cheap industrial meats & produce.... sadly Canadian govt if more concerned about consumers health concerns and scrutinize imports * own brands with a much stricter set of rules then most 'western' countries... which in Canada seems to mean mostly the US & Mexico as thats where most imports come from for 'fresh' food.

I suspect you may have been at the most convenient grocery store as thats not necessarily the cheapest... not saying you tried for the most expensive but that you may have picked the 'Sainsbury's' or 'M&S' to compare against Asda or Tesco... never hear of that 1 before anyway....

Loblaws, Metro & IGA are the big three in Quebec, dont know about the rest of Canada but know Loblaws is cross country. Anyway, my experience in Montreal was that Loblaws had more ogranic & specialty (vegetarian and the like) selection then the other two. Metro was the cheapest for meats and fresh vege & fruit, IGA was best for the more 'unique' items such as Marmite & Vegemite thats hard to find at the other two in Montreal's West Island. If you have 'bulk' items like toilet roll, frozen ready meals and the like that make up a significant portion of your grocery bill, you should have a look to see if there is any Costco (warehouse style bulk shopping) that you can get a membership with for things like fizzy drinks, loo roll, soaps and the like that are non perishable, it may be worth the yearly membership fee for a family of 4 adults

My mum was paying $300 a week when all of us 4 kids were living in her house for her weekly shops & she thought THAT was expensive... keep in mind we were very lable driven and HAD to have Coca Cola, not the store brand stuff *lol*

Wages ARE lower in Canada full stop.... its a hrash reality but unless you improve your skills or remain dedicated to a company for over 5 years or be in a really large demand industry like IT for example, you will be taking a pay cut... its not nice but at the same time, look around you and all the other savings your making! If you rent, you dont need to pay the municipal or federal taxes on the property your renting and dont have to pay any school, water or emergency services taxes! You don't have to pay a TV tax, although the tv in Canada is shite compared to the wonderful dry comedy in the UK admitedly. You dont have to worry about where to park when visitng most of your friends (unless they all live in city centers *lol*) you can have a fabulous 3 hour + night out with your mates for under £40 including food and drink. You can get a mortgage for 25 years and still be able to pay it off before retirement... said house does not need to be connected to adjoining neighbour... you can have a proper front & back yard with room for a *gasp* pool if you can afford it!

There's alot of shitty things about any country and alot of positives, the only difference is what matters to each of you more individually!

Personally I'll miss the un-PC humour and frankness/honesty of UK TV, commercials & mini movies. I'll miss the pictureque country side with rolling green hills and beautiful rustic homes & buildings. I'll miss the variety of song birds that twitter me awake in the morning. I'll miss the beautiful array of colours the spring bloom brings all across the UK. I'll miss having a relatively temperate climate all year round. I'll miss not having to do my own personal taxes every tax year. I'll miss not being able to know the exact price I'm going to pay at the cashiers till when purchasing something. I'll miss not having my birthday on a public holiday weekend *lol*

What I WONT miss is being called a bloody American for the 500th time! *lmao*

I find that we can save a lot of money on our grocery bill by eating out at sushi restaurants.

Wow that's a big list. I think I'll miss Tesco, the local market and Rashi's curries. Why are you moving then and will you miss cheap chicken cos I think I will.

Hmmm chicken

Frankie Zee

I find I spend the same here as I did in the UK, you shop around and look at the flyers that come through the door each week, the meat I find is so much better than in the UK....yes u pay for the comforts of home when u run down to the Brittish shop and Buy a can of BAKED BEANS,,, to think we ate that when poor at the end of the week, now we see it as a treat...lol

How life changes... would we go back to the UK.... NEVER..

Oh no dont get me wrong, I'll miss the cheap frozen chicken I get here in the UK... but keep in mind that the rest of the world has been warned off British Chicken because of the whole avian flu contravesy... much like the British Hoof & Mouth controvery before in N.A before I moved over to the UK.

Canadian food & inspection agency arer VERY picky on what they allow in as 'cheap imports' which consequently means higher prices on perishable food stuffs... on the one hand, its nice that they are looking after the general health of Canadians, on the other hand, it raises the prices and some retailers end up taking the blimey piss with their prices.... the happy medium is finding the big franchise supermarkets that dont take the piss with their markups. For me personally it involved going to the local farmers market stores (for meats & imports) and going to the nearest big chain 'Maxi' grocery for the non perishanbles & bulk/regular items.. dont know if it was the cheapest, but to me always seem to be the best combination of fresh produce & meats alongside ready meals

hi Steve, looks like I am on a posting spree. anyway, what I want to tell you is that I am alone with 3 kids ( 2 teens and a 9 nine yr old) . I would easily spend $300.00 one week on food , but the other week i only buy fruit and veggies . Know what I mean? So one week , an expensive grocery and the second week a cheaper grocery. i would say I spend about $700-800.00 per month on groceries which would include lunch and snacks for school etc.. infact,it;s the snacks that kill me.They can really add up... ever been to Waitrose ?? I find them really expensive. Groceries are much cheaper in Toronto than they are here, but Toronto is much more expensive to live in than here so it all evens out in the end I guess.

hey hey, another brit expat in Montreal... fan effing tastic, my OH will love shooting the breeze with other expat Brits once we're back in MTL next year I bet... now to make sure I remember all the MTL Brit expats... oh please hold the wine for the next 11 months *lol*

yeah, we;ll meet up.I am meeting up with OP on the West Island in a week. Well hold the wine for you. well, just a drop as long as you promise to bring a ship load of Almond Slices and bakewell tarts