Manitoba Judge Strikes Claims Against North West Company

A Manitoba judge has struck all claims made in a proposed class-action lawsuit that accused the North’s biggest grocery chain of keeping federal subsidy money that was supposed to be passed to consumers.

The judgment from former Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal was handed down last month, after the plaintiffs’ initial statement of claim was filed in February 2025.

The lawsuit came amid a food insecurity crisis in Canada’s northern communities, where healthy food staples are significantly more expensive than other regions.

That often leaves people in the North unable to afford enough nutritious food. Food insecurity is associated with higher levels of malnutrition, infections, chronic diseases, obesity, distress, social exclusion, depression and suicidal ideation, the decision says.

The proposed class-action lawsuit, which has not been certified, revolved around the North West Company’s involvement in the federal Nutrition North Canada program, which provides money to northern retailers to help offset the costs of certain goods in their stores.

Companies that get that funding have to pass the full subsidy amount to customers, by reducing eligible food prices in the amount of money they get. The North West Company has gotten subsidy payments under the program since its inception in 2011, the decision says.

The lawsuit sought damages from the North West Company, claiming it “retained millions of dollars in government funding and class members suffered further impoverishment and food insecurity.”

The plaintiffs alleged breach of contract, unjust enrichment and breaches of the Competition Act, the Business Practices Act and other provincial and territorial consumer protection laws

The judge struck the claims made to date but didn’t rule on a request from the plaintiffs to amend their statement of claim. Arguments and a decision on that motion “will await the plaintiffs’ opportunity to consider these reasons supporting my decision to strike.”

Meanwhile, the North West Company argued that “at its simplest, this case is about the plaintiffs’ belief that they paid too much at the grocery store.”