Minister meeting with grocery owners to look for price relief, premier says

Posted on April 30, 2026 by admin

Southern Alberta Newspapers

Premier Danielle Smith addressed ongoing affordability concerns on her call-in radio show on April 18, as food and fuel prices spike.

According to the most recent data from Statistics Canada, food prices have climbed nationwide four per cent since this time last year.

Produce like carrots and bell peppers experienced the most drastic price jumps, rising in cost by over seven per cent since 2023.

Smith says Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally is meeting with grocery store owners to discuss short-term measures that could provide some relief to Alberta consumers.

“We’re going to talk to the grocery store owners and see what can we do for those crucial staples to try to bring some of the prices down,” said Smith. “Because that’s what people see – every time they go to the grocery store, they remember what it used to be and they think, ‘How the heck did it get so expensive?’”

She also repeated her government’s stance on adjustments to the fuel tax as the federal suspension took effect April 20. Smith says her government is waiting until July 1 to determine whether any equivalent provincial suspensions will be implemented.

She says the volatility of oil prices as the U.S.-Israeli-led conflict in Iran continues to develop means her government needs to wait out the quarter to find out if the province can expect a windfall.

“Just as quickly as prices escalated, they can come down that quickly again,” she said. “In the past six weeks we’ve been monitoring it, prices started off at around $65, went up to as high as $115, came back down to $80 and I think are now trading at $85. This is why we can’t make decisions based on a single point in time today.”

She says money raised by the fuel tax is spent on roadworks.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government said Canadians could expect fuel prices to drop by about 10 cents per litre on regular gasoline and four cents a litre on diesel. 

The suspension will last until Labour Day.