Some Loblaws prices are double Dollarama's – here's why

A comparison of prices at Dollarama and Loblaws in Toronto recently went viral online, showing a handful of food items cost double – or more – at the big box grocer.

A comparison of prices at Dollarama and Loblaws in Toronto recently went viral online, showing a handful of food items cost double – or more – at the big box grocer.

While Loblaws and Dollarama are not direct competitors – one being a discount store, the other a grocery chain – CTV News Toronto visited Dollarama and Loblaws locations in downtown Toronto to compare and contextualize prices at the two stores.

IN PICTURES: How Loblaws grocery store prices compare to Dollarama

In some cases, Loblaws prices were more than double Dollarama’s, but as Mike von Massow, a food economist at the University of Guelph, explains, there is more than meets the eye.

The most staggering price difference between Dollarama and Loblaws was the cost of pasta.

At Dollarama, a bag (450g) of Italpasta spaghetti costs $1 while the identical product at Loblaws is priced at $4.49 – more than four times the cost. That being said, Loblaws also sells 2.27 kg of the same spaghetti for $7.99.

“You can look at that two ways. There’s an advantage for people who buy larger quantities or you can say there’s a disadvantage for people who can't afford to spend as much every time they go to the grocery store,” von Massow said.