On a Sunday morning in midtown Toronto, hitting several stores added up to more than 40 minutes of driving before factoring in time for parking, shopping and lineups.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Global food prices reached their highest level in nearly four years last month, bad news for Canadians headed into holiday entertaining. Large gatherings such as Thanksgiving and Christmas can add another layer of pressure for households trying to keep grocery costs down.
A study from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab found that a Thanksgiving dinner for four will cost $35.72 this year, up 10 per cent from $32.48 in 2025. But that estimate included a seven-pound turkey and basic side dishes, only factoring in the cost of potatoes, carrots, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, dinner rolls and a pumpkin pie.
So what’s the cost of a more typical spread? The Globe set out to price a traditional, yet cost-conscious, dinner for six people at Loblaws, No Frills, Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore in midtown Toronto.
For this experiment, the goal was to get a sense of what it costs to put Thanksgiving dinner on the table for six, with a larger turkey, familiar sides and a couple of desserts, while testing whether shopping around to save is worth the extra effort.
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These stores were selected based on proximity and price, with Loblaws, No Frills and Walmart being the closest options, and Real Canadian Superstore added as another major grocer expected to offer competitive deals. Other brands were considered, but were noticeably more expensive. (All shopping was completed by Oct. 5th. Prices may vary as Thanksgiving approaches and grocery stores adjust promotions and availability.)
The basket included a 16-pound (7-to-9 kilogram) turkey, potatoes, green beans, carrots, corn on the cob, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, dinner rolls, butter, milk, onions, garlic, rosemary, thyme, an apple pie, a pumpkin pie, Cool Whip and vanilla ice cream.
Households making dishes from scratch, serving alcohol or planning a more elaborate spread could see different totals.
Adam Chapman, a certified financial planner at Yes Money in London, Ont., recommends making a grocery list and estimating the total before heading to the store, so shoppers have a sense of what they are about to spend and aren’t surprised at the checkout.
He says the goal isn’t to be overly frugal during a special occasion but to decide what is worth spending more on.
“Pick that one thing that really matters, splurge on that, and then if you’re trying to cut back, cut back on everything else that’s maybe a little bit less important to the experience.”
The turkey can make or break the budget
After comparing all four stores, No Frills had the cheapest one-stop cart at $105.20 before tax. The same basket came to $124.15 at Loblaws, $131.09 at Walmart and $133.93 at Real Canadian Superstore, a difference of $28.73 between the cheapest and most expensive options.
This gap ultimately came down to the cost of the bird.
A 7-to-9 kilogram frozen turkey cost $30 at No Frills and $32.05 at Loblaws. A similarly sized turkey was $53 at Real Canadian Superstore and $57 at Walmart.
Choosing the cheapest turkey alone could save as much as $27. Sides varied too, with a 10-pound bag of yellow potatoes costing $1.99 at No Frills, versus $5.94 at Walmart and $6 at both Loblaws and Real Canadian Superstore.
Is chasing every sale worth the extra effort?
The Globe picked the cheapest version of each item across the four stores to build a “deal-hunter” basket and determine whether shopping around was actually worth it.
For items sold by weight, the same amount was compared at each store. For example, two pounds of green beans cost about $5.90 at Walmart, compared with $7.98 at No Frills. Walmart’s corn was also cheaper, with a four-pack of corn on the cob costing just 94 cents, compared with $5 at No Frills.
The final deal-hunter basket came to $92.60 before tax, $12.60 less than buying everything at No Frills, the cheapest one-stop shop.
Compared with Loblaws, the savings grew to $31.55. Compared with Walmart, they grew to $38.49 and more than $40 compared with Real Canadian Superstore. But getting the lowest bill comes with a trade-off: time.
“There’s a cost to effort,” Chapman said. “If that includes shopping all over the place, you’re almost kind of ruining your own experience of Thanksgiving because you’re so exhausted by the time you get to the meal.”
On a Sunday morning in midtown Toronto, hitting several stores added up to more than 40 minutes of driving before factoring in time for parking, shopping and lineups. There are also costs for gas, transit or Ubers to consider.
For anyone trying to keep holiday spending down, Chapman suggests hosting a potluck. The host can provide a main dish, while guests bring sides, desserts or drinks.
The best deal, he suggests, is not always the cheapest but the one that saves money without costing excess time or energy.
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