Conservatives press Liberals on cost of living as reports show food bank use soaring
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OTTAWA – The Conservatives pressed the federal government over the rising cost of living as new reports show more Canadians are turning to food banks and community organizations.
“How many meals will Canadians have to sacrifice for yet another costly Liberal budget,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asked in question period Monday.
His questions followed the release of a new Food Banks Canada report which showed monthly visits to food banks came close to 2.2 million in March 2025, five per cent higher than the year before and nearly double the rate in 2019.
The report said food banks in Canada received a “historic and very concerning” number of visits this year, “far more than enough to call an emergency.”
Another report released Monday by the Daily Bread Food Bank and North York Harvest Food Bank said more than one in 10 Torontonians now rely on food banks.
The Conservative Party accused the Liberals of making hunger “the new normal.”
“This is not normal,” a party news release said. “In fact, it would have been unthinkable just a decade ago.”
The party also said every dollar added to the national deficit “drives up the cost of everything.”
“(Prime Minister) Mark Carney has no right to ask Canadians to ‘sacrifice’ more just to put food on the table,” the release said. “Debt bursting at the seams means families can’t afford the things they need.”
Liberal House leader Steven MacKinnon responded to Poilievre in the House of Commons by saying Conservatives have voted against Liberal initiatives to support disadvantaged Canadians.
NDP MP Leah Gazan said “it’s time to modernize our social safety net.”
Liberal MP Marc Miller said Monday the Food Banks Canada report shows “where we are in this country” on food insecurity.
“It’s why you have (Jobs Minister Patty) Hajdu and the prime minister making the school food program permanent,” Miller said. “Food precarity is something that is present in Canada, it’s present in a lot of countries that are in the same situation as us.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2025.
— With files from David Baxter and Cassandra Szklarski in Toronto