Sylvain Charlebois
ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
- 2/23/2026
Openings we see, closures we don’t
Loblaw opening 70 stores sounds impressive — until you realize Canadians actually have fewer supermarkets per capita than they did five years ago. Growth isn’t the same as competition and press releases don’t lower grocery bills - 2/22/2026
Trade uncertainty is back on the menu
Many analysts say Trump lost. In reality, unpredictability won — and that has always been his strongest negotiating currency - 2/19/2026
When you know skimpflation has gone too far
You can protect margins quietly for a while. But the moment consumers start questioning what they’re tasting — nostalgia stops being an asset and becomes a liability - 2/16/2026
Why Canada leads the G7 in food inflation, again
As long as Canada confuses inflation with weather, instead of confronting productivity and competitiveness head-on, food prices will continue to rise — perhaps more slowly, but always upward - 2/14/2026
Food is not a fight: Why AI in grocery retail is different
The real question isn’t whether grocers will use AI. It’s whether consumers will trust how it’s used - 2/10/2026
When the grocery cart becomes a ballot box
When geopolitics is broadcast into living rooms every night, it inevitably follows Canadians into the grocery store. The checkout lane has become the only ballot box many consumers feel they control - 2/8/2026
Supply management and the cost of milk dumping
As food banks strain and dairy prices climb, millions of litres of Ontario milk are being poured away under a system built to control supply - 2/3/2026
The Super Bowl of snacking is, well, the Super Bowl
In Canada, the Super Bowl functions less as a sporting event than as a nationwide, synchronized snacking exercise - 2/1/2026
Beef bans, halal menus and the erosion of choice
Publicly funded services in a secular country must not impose dietary standards without transparency and choice - 1/29/2026
Ottawa: Stop sending cheques to fight grocery prices. End the grocer blackout
If Prime Minister Carney truly wants to help Canadians at the grocery store, he should ask grocers to end the counterproductive blackout period
