By Paul Vieira


OTTAWA--Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, struggling in the polls over cost-of-living issues, said officials are looking at what options they have available, including taxation, to ensure grocery store owners provide relief for the country's consumers.

Trudeau said Thursday he has summoned the leaders of the country's big grocers to a meeting in Ottawa to discuss how they plan to stabilize prices for their goods. The Canadian government is looking for concrete plans from grocery store operators by early October.

"It's not okay that our biggest grocery stores are making record profits, while Canadians are struggling to put food on the table," Trudeau said at a press conference following a meeting with the Liberal Party caucus in London, Ontario.

Should grocers fail to provide meaningful relief to households on prices, "then we will take further action and we are not ruling anything out including tax measures." He didn't say what tax measures they are considering.

After the 2021 election, Canada's Liberal government introduced a higher corporate income tax rate on banks, citing their strong profit margins.

Trudeau said he is optimistic grocery store chief executives will address the government's concerns.

Trudeau's Liberals are struggling in the polls, with recent surveys indicating they are trailing the Conservative Party by a sizable margin. Polling issued Thursday from Ottawa-based Abacus Data indicated 41% of voters would support the Conservatives if an election were held today, whereas 26% would vote Liberal. The Abacus poll added 56% of Canadians held a negative perception of the prime minister.

Abacus and other pollsters say the government is struggling on economic issues, in particular inflation and high house prices.

The latest data for Canada indicated the consumer-price index rose 3.3% in July from a year ago, which is an increase from the previous month but well below the peak hit last year of 8.1%. The data indicate prices for food items purchased at grocery stores rose 8.5% in July from a year ago.


Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-14-23 1727ET