Apr 29, 2026
Canadians aren't strangers to rising food prices putting pressure on their wallets. But there's a new culprit driving up the price of your grocery bill: the cucumber.
The ubiquitous salad bar mainstay has seen major price spikes in the last few months. According to the latest inflation data from Statistics Canada (1), cucumbers rose 28.4% over the last year, starting with a major uptick in January. Its retail price was $1.54 in March of last year and currently sits at $2.21 according to StatCan.
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Other key grocery items that have seen notable price hikes in the past are still sitting high as well. Ground beef has risen over 18% in the last 12 months — an increase of $2.55 per kg — while coffee has spiked just shy of 30% year-over-year.
Overall, StatCan reported that prices for groceries have jumped 4.4% annually in March (2). However, prices for fresh vegetables rose at the highest rate the agency has seen since August 2023 — a notable 7.8% in March alone.
So, what's behind the unique jump for the foods we arguably all need more of?
A classic case of tightening supply
The agency noted that the rise in certain vegetables (i.e. cucumbers, peppers and celery) were, "due in part to tighter supplies related to adverse growing conditions in producing countries."
Michael von Massow, a food agriculture professor at the University of Guelph told CBC News that cucumbers are highly susceptible to production shortages. "We don't have a very diverse supply of them in Canada, and they're highly perishable," he told the outlet (3).
In fact, according to a report prepared by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada imports a large portion of its vegetables: over 49% of tomatoes, 39% of peppers and around 10% of its cucumbers are imported by volume (4). More to the point, the report notes that 84% of Canada's greenhouse vegetable imports are from Mexico, a country that has seen disease, insects and poor weather conditions hinder its cucumber crops, according to produce supply chain Markon (5).
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While we are still coming out of the colder months, vegetables like cucumbers need to be imported. And the prices of these items are easily impacted by rising fuel prices, TD Bank senior economist Leslie Preston told the Canadian Press (6).
"In Canada, we are getting a lot of our food from very far away, so transportation costs are a key factor. That would be something we'd be watching for in the months ahead potentially to boost food prices," she added.
The conflict over the Strait of Hormuz has put immense tailwinds behind gas prices, as around 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas and oil pass through the Strait (7). With it being still disrupted, transportation of crude oil required to produce gasoline is severely lessened, which drives up the price of the commodity. StatCan noted the monthly price of gas surged 21.2% in March — the largest monthly price increase on record.
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How Canadians are reacting, and when prices could come down
Rising grocery prices are hitting Canadians across the country.
In Calgary, the non-profit Guru Nanak Free Kitchen was distributing 8,000 pounds of potatoes, along with other vegetables, all for free, CTV News reported (8). The response was profound: Thousands of Albertans lined up around multiple blocks, some with suitcases, bags and wagons, the outlet noted.
Access to food banks in light of rising food prices is not an isolated incident. According to data from Food Banks Canada, there were over 2.2 million visits to food banks across Canada as of March 2025 — the largest amount of visits in history (9).
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Prices like these shouldn’t last forever, right? What will it take for them to come down?
For fruits and vegetables, von Massow told CBC that prices are cyclical, dropping down each month from April to June as local produce comes to market. "We would expect over the coming months, even independently of the war in Iran and fuel prices, for prices to come down," he told CBC.
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How Canadians can shop smartly in the meantime
Waiting for fruit and vegetable supply to rebound with help from local producers isn't a one-size-fits-all remedy. While you wait for prices to head into another downturn cycle, here are some ways you can find lower prices right now.
- Shift to frozen options. While they do not have the same texture and flavour its fresh counterpart, frozen vegetables are still healthy and a price-friendly alternative.
- Shop based on meals, not preferences. Instead of building your grocery list around preferences, build it off of discounted items. Shopping for meals that you can create from flyer deals can be a major price-saving hack.
- Make use of the best rewards credit cards. Signing up for a rewards credit card focused on consumers with grocery-heavy budgets can net you solid rewards. In fact, the PC Mastercard was named our Best Rewards Card for 2025, perfect for Canadians focusing on grocery savings.
- Shop for more generic brands. Having name brands on the shelf might be nice, but they're also expensive. Opting for generic in-store brands such as No Name, Selections and Compliments can net easy savings.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Statistics Canada (1, 2); CBC News (3); Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (4); Markon (5); Canadian Press (6); BBC (7); CTV News (8); Food Banks Canada (9)
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Brett Surbey is a corporate paralegal with KMSC Law LLP and freelance writer who has written for Yahoo Finance Canada, Success Magazine, Publishers Weekly, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Advisor and multiple academic journals. He and his family live in northern Alberta, Canada.
