Many grocery stores in Ontario advertise food prices per pound but charge per kilogram at checkout. This misleading pricing practice creates confusion for consumers and makes it harder to compare costs accurately.

Canada officially uses the metric system, so why are grocery stores still mixing pounds and kilograms? This inconsistency leads to unintentional overspending and unfair pricing.

A Personal Story: Why This Needs to Change

Yesterday, I went to Longo’s and saw fresh Ontario tomatoes advertised for $1.99 per pound. Thinking it was a great deal, I grabbed some. But at checkout, the price scanned as $6.79 per kilogram.

I quickly did the math and realized $6.79 per kilo doesn’t equal $1.99 per pound—the numbers didn’t add up. I called the cashier over, and she confidently told me, “The sign is per pound, but the price at checkout is per kilogram, so it’s correct.”

But it wasn’t correct—the price conversion was off. Even grocery store employees aren’t always aware of how misleading this pricing can be. If they can’t verify the math quickly, how can we expect everyday shoppers to do it? We shouldn’t have to—pricing should be clear, transparent, and consistent.

The Problem

• 62% of Canadian consumers say grocery store pricing is unclear or misleading. (Source: Canadian consumer survey, 2019)

• 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds, meaning prices displayed in pounds but charged per kilogram often result in a price increase that consumers don’t expect.

• Canada adopted the metric system in 1970, yet many grocery stores still mix pounds and kilograms—leading to unnecessary confusion.

• A 2019 study on grocery pricing found that misleading price displays lead to an estimated $3.8 billion in extra spending by Canadian consumers each year. (Source: Canadian Business Research)

We Demand Transparency

We, the undersigned, demand that:

1. Grocery stores must advertise and charge in the same unit—if checkout prices are per kilogram, advertisements should also be per kilogram.

2. Ontario fully adopts the metric system for grocery pricing to eliminate unnecessary confusion and ensure full transparency.

With the rising cost of food, consumers deserve clear, honest, and fair pricing to make informed decisions. We urge Premier Doug Ford and the Ontario government to take immediate action and mandate standardized metric pricing in all grocery stores across Ontario.

Sign this petition and help bring transparency to grocery pricing in Ontario!