Top 10 Cheapest Affordable Grocery Stores In Canada (2024)

No, I am not a foodie but I love me some good meal, and since I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t so far you sure would love some good meal too. You would agree with me that groceries are essential to whipping up a great and yummy meal. Now groceries either fresh or packaged are non-negotiable when making a great and satisfying meal.

Regardless of its necessity in a good meal, you would agree with me that groceries could be pretty pricey, especially in Canada. The Good news is that there are Cheap Grocery Stores in Canada that offer lesser prices for groceries while not compromising on quality as well. No Frills tops the list of the Top 10 cheapest grocery stores in Canada. 

Top 10 Affordable Grocery Stores In Canada

1. No Frills 

No Frills is yet another discount supermarket owned by Loblaw companies that is a darling to a lot of Canadians. No Frills was established in 1978 in Toronto. The store is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with more than 200 Franchise stores across Canada. No Frills is a conventional supermarket that is deeply committed to continuously presenting fresh groceries at discounted prices just as the name implies.

No Frills customers are required to pack their groceries and provide their grocery bags or get No Frills’ grocery bags at the rate of 5 cents per one. The Supermarket also offers a wide range of services apart from groceries comprising Frozen foods, pharmacy, Deli, Bakery, Dairy, fresh produce, and snacks. The store also provides liquor and gasoline at designated locations. No Frills boasts lesser food prices and owns a slogan that says Won’t Be Beat.

2. Walmart Canada 

Established on March 17, 1994, Walmart Canada is the Canadian arm of Walmart with its headquarters in Ontario. Walmart Canada has 343 Supercenter locations and 65 Discount store locations across Canada. Walmart Supercenters have all the products that a Walmart discount store has and even more. 

Walmart Supercenters are more like contemporary supermarkets that deal with food, groceries, and general merchandise. However, Walmart discount stores have general merchandise and limited grocery which are mostly dried goods as their products. Walmart Canada is committed to providing Canadians with affordable grocery items as stated in their slogan Save Money. Live Better.

3. Food Basics 

Officially owned by Metro Incorporated, Food Basics is a discount supermarket that operates majorly across Ontario. It was established in 1995 with the sole aim of contending with the prosperous No Frills supermarket. The retail store is headquartered in Toronto with over 130 locations across Ontario. Food Basics product ranges from Food to General Merchandise. 

Some Food Basics Supermarket locations have a pharmacy that is known as Food Basics Pharmacy. Food Basics is committed to providing affordable groceries for lesser prices as is evident by their slogan which says Always more for less! It is undoubtedly one of the cheapest grocery stores in Canada.

4. FreshCo 

Officially owned by Sobeys, FreshCo Limited is a series of Canadian discount supermarkets that was established in March 2010. It is headquartered in Ontario Stellarton, Nova Scotia, and Mississauga with about 98 Store locations across Canada. The Supermarket provides a range of products from Snacks, Frozen foods, seafood, general groceries, bakery products, and general merchandise to its several customers. 

The discount supermarket is committed to providing its various customers with quality and fresh food items at cheap prices in a contemporary shopping setting. The supermarket’s slogan Lowering Food Prices further reflects FreshCo’s commitment to providing its customers with affordable grocery and food items.

5. Giant Tiger

Giant Tiger Stores is a Canadian-based grocery store that is dedicated to making groceries and daily needs available to Canadians at discounted prices. The Grocery store was founded in 1961 by Gordon Reid and it is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. The Giant Tiger store was founded at a time when discounted stores weren’t a thing in Canada. 

Presently, with about 260 stores all over Canadian cities like Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Alberta amongst others, Giant Tiger stores are still devoted to helping Canadians get quality and more groceries at lower prices. The Grocery store is renowned as one of the Cheapest Grocery stores in Canada as they offer more shopping for lesser prices.

6. Real Canadian Superstores 

Commonly abbreviated as RCSS, the Real Canadian Superstores is another subsidiary of the Loblaw Companies that was founded in March 1979. The Real Canadian Superstores is mostly a discounted grocery store with electronics, clothing, and housewares sections filling up a third of the store in all of its locations in Canada. 

This multi-formatted style of the store is aimed at offering discounted grocery prices to Canadians and also making shopping stress-free for them. Several Real Canadian Superstores locations have photo studios, Pharmacies, and Bakeries. The Canadian-based grocery store offers groceries to Canadians for lesser prices making it one of the cheapest Grocery stores in Canada.

7. Co-op Stores 

The co-op store was established in 1927 as a small Agricultural supply co-operative with the sole intent of creating a platform for local farmers to promote their livestock. It is a store that is owned collectively by members of a cooperative society and administered by a board of directors. 

The Co-op store is a consumer’s cooperative that is headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick and it is dedicated to providing consumers with affordable and quality groceries.

8. Save on Foods 

Officially known as a subsidiary of Overwaitea Food Group, Save on Foods is a chain of supermarkets mostly situated across Western Canada. Save on Foods supermarket was established in 1982 in Langley, British Columbia, and has since expanded into about 177 stores across Canada with about 21,842 employees.

Just like the name implies The Save on Foods supermarket aims to assist Canadians with saving money on food by providing quality groceries at affordable prices. A lot of Save on Foods locations have pharmacies, health clinics, and wine departments.

9. Thrifty Foods 

Established in Fairfield, Victoria in 1977 the thrifty foods is a grocery supermarket that is a subsidiary of Sobeys. Thrifty Foods is renowned as one of the biggest supermarket chains in Vancouver. It is headquartered in Central Saanich, British Columbia with about 5,000 employees in about 27 locations. 

Thrifty Foods is one of the grocery stores in Canada that is dedicated to providing its numerous customers with cheap groceries while still maintaining the quality of its products. It is undoubtedly one of the cheapest grocery stores in Canada presently.

10. Extra Foods

Founded in 1982, Extra foods is a Canadian-based discount store that is a part of the Loblaw group of Companies. It is headquartered in Brampton, Ontario with about 10 store locations in Canada. Extra foods are mostly situated in smaller neighborhoods in Western Canada and are usually small-sized also. 

The grocery store makes quality groceries available to Canadians at discounted prices and it is fast becoming a darling to Canadians. Extra Foods’ parent company, Loblaw companies changed the format of some Extra Foods locations in 2008 and 2010 respectively in a bid to give the grocery store a facelift and serve Canadians better. 

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Closing 

The price of food and grocery items in a supermarket or store is a major determinant of its status as a cheap store. Of the several grocery stores across Canada that provide customers with quality food and grocery items at discounted prices, the grocery stores outlined above top the list of the Cheapest Grocery stores in Canada. 

I would love to know your grocery store of choice and if they made it to our top 10 listings of affordable grocery stores in Canada. You can do that by heading over to the comment section below to tell me all about it. I value and warmly welcome your comments, opinions, and thoughts on this piece so please also drop them in the comment section below. I can’t wait to hear and read from you.