In Winnipeg, perhaps less competition now?

Of the 23 stores that Sobeys is supposed to sell in order to acquire the Canada Safeway chain, five are located in Winnipeg.

Now, there are fears that the Sobeys-Safeway deal may create less choice for Winnipeggers, especially if the five stores are sold to a chain that’s already doing business in Winnipeg, such as Loblaw.

“We might lose some choice of products. We might see higher prices. We might see less stores, particularly in neighbourhoods where it’s important to have stores – maybe not right now but over time,” Gloria Desorcy of the Consumers’ Association of Canada, told the CBC.

Winnipeg has had a particularly difficult time lately trying to get grocery stores to come to the city’s downtown.

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