Premier Eby committed Friday to capping retail margins on staple groceries and banning practices he says let large chains limit competition, if the party is reelected.
Speaking at a Save-On-Foods in Kelowna, Eby said the centrepiece is a “price guard” that would set a fixed cents-per-unit ceiling on the markup large corporate retailers can take on milk, eggs, butter, cheese, chicken, and turkey.
BC NDP leader David Eby vows to use existing regulatory tools to protect consumers from rising grocery costs:
— Sitka Media (@sitkamedia) October 2, 2026
“We’re going to make sure that for you and your family, you’re not getting gouged at the till.”#bcpoli #BCelxn2026 pic.twitter.com/sfaDKjGx0G
“Families are being squeezed every time they go to the store because corporate retailers are using inflation as a cover to jack up prices on essential goods,” he said. “We’ve all seen our grocery bills go up and up while the profits of grocery giant soar.”
The cap would apply only to large corporate chains, not independents, and would be a ceiling rather than a floor so stores could still discount. The party says rules would stop retailer from offsetting the limit by cutting what they pay farmers of processors.
Eby also pledged to ban restrictive property covenants and lease clauses that keep competing food retailers out of nearby sites, require clean unit pricing on shelves to make shrinkflation easer to spot, and tighten consumer rules against the use of personal data for algorithmic pricing.
The party says and average family of four will spend more than $17,500 on groceries this year, with prices 27% higher than five years ago, and that five chains control about 80% of the BC market. It estimates the package could save households up to $700 a year, depending on the region. A further commitment would see the provinces work with Ottawa on an independent wholesale food terminal in the Lower Mainland, giving smaller stores and local producers a distribution channel outside the larger chains.
The measures are campaign commitments and would require legislation if the NDP is reelected to government after the October election.
Meanwhile in Summerland, the BC NDP pledged new recovery supports for families hit by this summer’s wildfires, including those uninsured or underinsured. The party said that if reelected, it would match Canadian Red Cross donations up to $20 million.
“The needs are different for every resident who has suffered from these fires," the party said, "but our commitment is the same: we will stand with people for as long as it takes to recover."
