Grocery rebate for Canadians kicks in. Who is eligible?
Eleven million Canadians are set to receive the federal government’s one-time “grocery rebate” on Wednesday as high food prices persist across the country.
The payment, which will arrive alongside July’s GST tax credit payment, was a signature item in the Liberals’ 2023 budget. Grocery rebate payments are being delivered by direct deposit or cheque through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
The rebate was introduced as a way to compensate Canadians for higher grocery prices due to inflation, though it can be spent on anything.
The rebate will be for low- and modest-income Canadians and families, the government has said: up to $467 for eligible couples with two children; $234 for single Canadians without children; and $225 for seniors, on average.
The federal government also provided a similar payment last fall in what it said was an effort to blunt the effect of high inflation on low and modest-income families.
Canada’s inflation rate slowed to 3.4 per cent in May, but grocery prices continue to rise rapidly, with prices up nine per cent compared with a year ago. A report by the Competition Bureau released last month found a lack of competition in the Canadian grocery industry is impacting food prices.
“While inflation in Canada has fallen to 3.4 per cent in May – down from 4.4 per cent in April, and from a high of 8.1 per cent last June rising grocery prices remain a challenge for too many Canadians,” Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a news release Wednesday.
“With the Grocery Rebate payments being delivered to 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians starting today, our government is continuing to provide inflation relief to Canadians who need it most.”
There is no need to apply for
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