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Food in Nunavut costs twice as much as Canadian average

New statistics from the Nunavut Bureau of Statistics show just how much more people in the territory pay for food and other items compared with other Canadians.

Bureau of Statistics survey compared food prices in Nunavut with rest of Canada

CBC News ·
In general, Nunavummiut can expect to pay around two times what other Canadians pay for the same items, according to the Nunavut Bureau of Statistics. (Nunavut Bureau of Statistics)

People living in Nunavut don't need to be reminded they pay more for groceries than other Canadians, but the Nunavut Bureau of Statistics has released some new statistics showing exactly how much more they pay.

A price tag lists the price and subsidy of a four-litre jug of milk at a grocery store in Iqaluit in December 2014. The average price of a one-litre jug of two-per-cent milk in Nunavut in March 2015 was $3.21, compared to a Canadian average of $2.34, according to the Nunavut Bureau of Statistics. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

The territorial statistics collector sampled food and non-food item prices in all 25 Nunavut communities in March 2015. It then compared them with what Statistics Canada says is the Canadian average for those same items. 

The average Canadian pays $5.03 for a 2.5-kilogram bag of white flour, while Nunavut residents pay more than double that, $13.60.

In general Nunavummiut can expect to pay around twice the price other Canadians pay for the same items.

Check out this Nunavut Bureau of Statistics comparison chart to see the price discrepancy for a number of other items.

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