Loblaw boycott: CEO responds to plans from ‘deeply unhappy’ customers

A boycott targeting Loblaw is gaining momentum online, with what could be thousands of shoppers taking their money elsewhere in May.

It’s the latest sign of Canadians’ mounting frustration with the major grocers, which have been under political and public scrutiny for rising food prices and profits.

“We don’t want to struggle anymore,” said Emily Johnson, a mental health and addictions worker in Milton, Ont., and one of the boycott’s organizers.

Johnson and others started organizing the boycott after a Reddit group she created gained thousands of followers looking for a place to complain about Loblaw and other grocers.

The page, r/loblawsisoutofcontrol, now has about 56,000 members. While there’s no way of knowing how many will participate in the boycott, the page is full of posts from people who say they plan to, or have already started. There’s also a list of demands to Loblaw from the boycott organizers that includes signing a grocery code of conduct and committing to affordable pricing.

The primary aim is to have a financial impact on Loblaw, Johnson said, the biggest of the Canadian grocers. But she also hopes the boycott educates people and gets the attention of government.

Mississauga resident and community advocate Rahul Mehta was already trying to cut back on shopping at Loblaw-owned stores, and plans to fully boycott the company come May.

He hopes the boycott drives shoppers not to other large grocers, but to local, independent stores.

“I think we could potentially see a resurgence in … interest in learning and demanding real choices, not just Metro versus Loblaws,” he said.

Consumers increasingly feel powerless about the lack of choice they have, especially in smaller communities, said Monica LaBarge, an assistant