Ottawa, ON — In his pre-budget speech last week, Mark Carney said to a group of students in Ottawa: “Your future will not be the same as my past.” He told them that they would have to make “sacrifices.” Today, we found out what he meant.
Food Banks Canada just released a devastating 2025 Hunger Count, confirming what Canadians know every time they go to the grocery store or open their fridge: after ten years of Liberal inflation, taxes and waste, Canada is becoming “a country where hunger is normalized” after food prices rose 25 per cent over the last four years. The report revealed that there were 2,165,766 million visits to food banks in March — the highest in Canadian history and nearly double visits in 2019. This is the fourth straight report in a row that shows a horrific spike in people’s inability to afford food.
But it’s not just the topline number, it’s how fast it’s getting worse. The report said “it took decades to reach one million visits in a month, and it has now taken half a decade to more than double that.” 39 per cent of Canadians now experience food insecurity, and 10 per cent have used a food bank in the last year.
Over 710,000 food bank visits were made by children, who now make up one-third of all food bank clients. 23 per cent of those relying on food banks are two-parent families. Nearly one in five visitors are employed but still can’t afford food, as the report said, “employment is no longer a reliable buffer against poverty.” The government can’t pretend any longer that a school food program reaching a tenth of Canadian children offers hope for over 40 million Canadians.
To keep up, food banks have had to more than double spending, from an average of $209,700 just four years ago to $535,700 today. 52 per cent had to give out less food than usual, while almost a quarter ran out of food needed to meet demand.
A separate report found that Toronto alone witnessed a record 4.1 million visits to its food banks between March 2024 and April 2025 – a staggering 340 per cent increase since 2019. 96 per cent of respondents said that the rising cost of living is crushing them and was a top reason for their visit. Over half visit food banks three or more times per month.
The situation is no better in Québec. This year’s Bilan-Faim survey revealed that almost 600,000 individuals are supported by the Banques alimentaires du Québec network monthly, a 7.6 per cent increase over last year.
This is not normal. In fact, it would have been unthinkable just a decade ago. But under the Liberals, one food bank user said that “the reliance on food banks is no longer short-term or crisis-based for many — it has become an ongoing necessity to survive.”
Only a decade of Liberal incompetence could make hunger the new normal. Mark Carney has no right to ask Canadians to “sacrifice” more just to put food on the table. Every dollar he adds to his runaway deficit drives up the cost of everything — food most of all. Debt bursting at the seams means families can’t afford the things they need.
Canadians don’t need buzzwords and photo ops. They need affordable homes, full cupboards, and hope. Conservatives will turn hurt into hope — so parents can buy groceries without debt, and kids can go to school with their bellies full.