Posthaste: Many Canadians believe companies are using inflation as an excuse to gouge them
Recent research from the Bank of Canada suggests that corporations did not take advantage of inflation to raise prices more than necessary. The public at large, however, isn’t so sure.
A new survey by Modus Research, which interviewed 1,618 adults, found that a strong majority of Canadians (80 per cent) are convinced that companies are using inflation as an excuse to gouge them. This view is consistent across all income groups, with nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of even the highest earners ($100,000+) believing that they are being overcharged for products.
Canadians are “no doubt influenced by reports of record profits for major corporations,” the report said. “This speaks to a growing economic anxiety among Canadians at all income levels.”
Canada’s large grocery chains have attracted much of the attention and have been accused of “greedflation” as their profits rose in tandem with inflation. Just last month, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. beat analyst expectations amid high food inflation.
Canadians believe that inflation is the most urgent issue for governments to address today (95 per cent), followed by home prices (94 per cent) and the cost of rent (94 per cent), which are also inflation-related.
Many hold the government responsible for it, with nearly half (47 per cent) thinking that that the current episode of inflation is within the control of Canadian policymakers.
“Canadians think governments need to step in and do more to address it, and will not let policy makers off the hook just because inflation is a matter of the global economy,” the report said.
The federal New Democratic Party called for an investigation of “profit-driven inflation” in the grocery sector last September as members tried to pin rising food costs
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