New discount grocery stores in HRM part of a growing trend: expert

Linus Mulherin · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 20, 2026 5:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 20

Shoppers in the Halifax Regional Municipality say two new discount grocery stores are a welcome addition to their neighbourhoods.

The stores, in Bedford and Lower Sackville, are both FreshCos, the discount chain owned by Sobeys. They opened for business on Thursday.

Qingyu Li had been eagerly awaiting the opening of the Lower Sackville location for a few months.

“I was so excited to have this open so close to my home and get some lower prices,” Li said outside the store on Cobequid Road.

“The cost of groceries are far too high for everybody,” Bob Mitchell said in front of the new Bedford location. “And everyone's looking around for the best deal. That's just the way the market is today.”

Year-over-year food prices across Canada have risen over the summer, with grocery inflation sitting at 3.1 per cent in July, according to Statistics Canada.

This continued rise, which has outstripped general inflation for the past 18 months, is leading to more discount stores being opened, says an agricultural economist at McGill University in Montreal.

Discount grocery stores rising in popularity

“We have seen an increase in discount grocery stores' popularity,” Pascal Thériault told CBC News in an interview.

“The increase in food cost makes the buyers go toward those stores specifically. And there is a trade-off. I mean, yes, prices are lower, you get less service. So ultimately consumers make that choice.”

Stores like Gateway Meat Market, an independent grocer in Dartmouth known for its low prices, have proven popular during a period of rising living costs.

Thériault said beyond offering lower prices, discount chains can have other effects on an area’s grocery market, like forcing competitors to lower their prices or offer more services.

“It means that regular retailers have to justify that price premium by offering, quite often, even more service than they were offering before in order to keep their consumers,” he said.

Several shoppers at the new HRM stores said they had altered their shopping habits because of escalating food prices.

• More stories from Halifax Regional Municipality

“They’re changing rapidly,” said Richard Merry. “I was paying a lot of money the last month for food, and any opportunity to save a few dollars is a big deal.”

“I mean, you cut your coat according to your size,” said Chinwoke Nwafuluma. “Cost of food is very high. Coming from a mom with three kids, it’s expensive.”

These are the first FreshCo stores to open in Nova Scotia, joining several No Frills, the discount chain owned by Loblaws.

A new FreshCo and a new No Frills are set to open this fall in Dartmouth.

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