canada grocery prices

American woman shocked by fast food and grocery prices in Canada

There's no debate — grocery prices are too damn high in Canada.

From outrageous prices for fruit and veggie trays to "rip-off" snack prices, Canadians have been struggling to keep up with food costs.

It surprised one woman who visited from the U.S., who says she'll "never complain" about grocery prices in America again.

Kena Peay, a content creator you might know for her outdoor cooking series on TikTok, visited the True North in late February.

Of course, she had to stop by beloved Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee to try its peach mango pie and crispy fried chicken. However, she was shocked by the meal's cost here in Canada compared to America.

"How are y'all surviving?" she said in an Instagram reel posted on February 23. "I just went to Jollibee and I got four pieces of chicken, peach mango pie, which I’m excited to try, small rice, gravy and a drink for $30 — $30?! This is crazy."

In her caption for the reel, Peay reiterated that $30 "is crazy for fast food."

Upon a quick comparison, the price for the same meal at Jollibee's Times Square location, for example, comes out to around the same price in Canada.

However, it's not clear if the restaurant's prices vary depending on your state, and plenty of fast-food joints in the U.S. are sure to have cheaper prices.

Peay also shared her experience grocery shopping in Canada.

"I feel like Canada is super expensive when it comes to groceries. I don't know how you’re doing it," she said in the reel.

She recounted going to a grocery store to buy some food for the week and was taken aback by how much she had to pay for cooking oil ($9), bread ($7) and eggs, which she couldn’t find for less than $9.

"I just want to say to my Canadian friends, I hope you're surviving because these prices are ridiculous… I thought they were high in the U.S.," she said.

Peay isn't the only one to see major grocery price differences between Canada and the U.S.

One Canadian in Texas recently shared how grocery shopping has become so much cheaper since moving there.

And last year, a B.C. resident detailed how much money she saved by driving to the U.S. to grocery shop.

As for Peay, she summed up her Canadian experience pretty well in an Instagram caption: "Canada, you've been amazing per usual, but I won't miss these outrageous food prices."

Lead photo by

@kenapeay/Instagram


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