Northern Food Basket

Ontario

Food is shipped under the Food Mail Program from Timmins to isolated communities along the James Bay coast as well as Peawanuck, and from Pickle Lake to Fort Severn. Pickle Lake is also the designated food entry point for Big Trout Lake and Wunnummin Lake, and Red Lake is the designated food entry point for Sachigo Lake, but retailers in those communities have not used the program during the period covered by these surveys.

For all isolated communities in Northern Ontario as well as Pickle Lake, the cost of the basket is based on the lowest price available in the community for each item in the basket, using a specific purchase size and, for most products, a specific brand. However, the number of stores varies from one community to another and, in some communities, the number of stores has changed over the years. For Ottawa, Timmins, Kapuskasing and Thunder Bay, the cost is based on prices in one supermarket.

Price surveys were conducted in the spring or early summer (April to June) in 1990, 1992 and 1993 (except for Fort Severn, conducted in July 1993 and Timmins and Kapuskasing, conducted in September 1993). Figures shown for Ottawa in 1994 are actually for November 1993, since the first survey conducted in Ottawa in 1993 was in April, and no surveys were conducted in Ottawa in 1994. The only other survey conducted in Ontario in 1994 was in Fort Severn in January. Surveys were conducted in the fall (September to November) in 1991, 1996 and 1997, in the summer in 1995, February 2000 (Ottawa), June 2002 (Ottawa), and October 2002 (Fort Severn). In 2001, the surveys were conducted in January-February in Kashechewan, Attawapiskat, Peawanuck and Wunnumin Lake, in May in Timmins, in June in Ottawa, and in November-December in other communities. In 2003, the surveys were conducted in March in Fort Severn and in July in Ottawa. The same two communities were surveyed in 2004, in February and March, respectively. Thunder Bay was also surveyed in February 2004. In 2005, most surveys were completed in January-February except for Pickle Lake and Fort Severn where they were conducted in November. In 2006, the surveys were conducted in April in Fort Severn and Thunder Bay and in May in Ottawa.

Weekly cost of the Northern Food Basket for a family of four, 1990-2006

Updated
06/13/2006

Weekly cost of perishables in the Northern Food Basket for a family of four, 1990-2006

Updated
06/13/2006

Weekly cost of non-perishables in the Northern Food Basket for a family of four, 1990-2006

Updated
06/13/2006

Cost of the Northern Food Basket in selected communities in Ontario since 1990 (PDF 8 Kb) in PDF format.

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