Across Canada, families are struggling to afford baby formula as prices have surged nearly 84 percent since 2017, forcing many parents into increasingly desperate situations. What was once a routine grocery purchase has now become a financial burden so heavy that some parents say they must choose between paying bills and feeding their children. With the cost climbing roughly 30 percent over the last two years alone, parents are leaning on social media, community groups, and even late-night pleas to strangers just to make it through the week.
In Thunder Bay, Ontario, mother of three Cassandra Shedden says the soaring price of formula has pushed her to search for items at home that she can sell quickly to cover the cost of feeding her six-month-old daughter, Charlotte. The child depends entirely on formula and requires larger quantities due to difficulty gaining weight. Shedden says she spends between 90 and 120 dollars every week, even while using the cheapest brand available. She describes her situation as heartbreaking, explaining how often parents rely on the federal Canada Child Benefit simply to afford a single can of formula that may last only a few days.
Online groups have become an informal support system, with parents posting pleas for help that reveal how widespread the crisis has become. Lisa Ierullo, who helps run an exchange group in Thunder Bay, says she has received urgent messages from mothers who have no formula left and must wait hours for government benefits to arrive. On several occasions, she has sent emergency e-transfers to help parents get through the night. These exchanges, once rare, have become common enough to signal a broader national issue.
Researchers say the situation reflects a breakdown in accessibility and affordability. Lesley Frank, Canada Research Chair in Food, Health and Social Justice at Acadia University, has spent nearly two decades studying formula access and says the rise in online “foraging for formula” is alarming. She notes that some parents are buying opened cans from strangers because they have no other option, and retailers across the country now lock formula behind glass because it is among the most frequently stolen food products in Canada. Frank argues that such measures point to a deeper crisis within the country’s food and economic systems.
Experts are calling for stronger government intervention to protect families from escalating costs. Suggestions include increasing the Canada Child Benefit, improving food entitlements for young children and breastfeeding mothers, and reducing dependence on the United States, where a small number of companies dominate the formula market. Frank says producing more formula domestically, or even nationalizing part of the supply chain, could help prevent shortages and stabilize prices for Canadian families.
As the price of baby formula continues to rise, many parents say the system has left them behind. Their stories, shared in online community groups and late-night messages, highlight a growing sense of urgency and a nationwide demand for long-term solutions that ensure every child in Canada has access to safe, affordable nutrition.
