Equipping and enabling independent and franchised grocers for sustainable success.

Retail Membership is open to any full independent or franchised grocery store operating in at least four departments of the following: dry grocery, produce, meat, frozen, dairy, bakery, or deli.

Store is Large (over 3500 sq. ft.)  
$689.00 plus applicable taxes

Store is Small (under 3500 sq. ft.) 
$349.00 plus applicable taxes

This year, five scholarships totaling $28,000 are handed out to deserving students across Canada.

1. A plaque for the Store Sponsor of each scholarship recipient.
2. Personalized assistance with any publicity opportunities.
3. Invitation to accept the National Scholarship sponsorship plaque at Grocery Innovations Canada 2021.

5 reasons your store will benefit from a CFIG membership:

Retail Membership is open to any full independent or franchised grocery store operating in at least four departments of the following: dry grocery, produce, meat, frozen, dairy, bakery, or deli.

Government advocacy

CFIG is the only Canadian association that represents
and protects the interests of over 6,900 independent and
franchised grocers at the provincial and federal
government level.

Staff Perk Programs

CFIG is proud to partner with Perkopolis to offer
our members and their employees never-ending perks
on shopping, travel, gas and more.

Build reputation

Get recognized through exclusive scholarships
and retail awards.

Keep up to date

Get instant alerts about food recalls, advocacy
and regulatory informs. Also receive our
6 times a year e-newsletter.

Esso/Mobil Fleet Discounts

CFIG has partnered with Esso to offer a Mobil
Fleet Discount to our members, putting
money back in their pockets.

Discounts on 3rd party services

On the services you need to succeed like training,
consultation, award entry, and
admission to our trade-shows.

Network and share best practices

Continue your professional development
at seminars, events, and tradeshows.

How CFIG is Working for You.

CFIG led the fight over the past three years in maintaining pressure on the government to bring forward further reductions in interchange fees. The credit card companies, banks and payment processors, the 3 hands in your wallet, continue to levy fees higher than other jurisdictions. Our efforts resulted in Visa lowering their grocery rates to 1.23% and MasterCard to 1.22%. In September 2018, Finance Minister Morneau announced further measures. An additional drop in the overall rate to 1.4%—along with cuts to premium card rates. This will help ensure that the lower rate for independent grocers to 1.22% will actually be realized. In addition, the government promised in the most recent federal election, to eliminate the interchange fees that are paid on the HST/GST.

Retail and supplier consolidation has in some cases distorted fair competitive practices in the food industry. CFIG continues to raise the profile of this issue and the need to ensure that independent retail grocers are not singled out and treated unfairly in their dealings with suppliers. CFIG believes that a Code of Conduct for the grocery industry, will help provide more fairness and transparency in our industry.

The implementation of the Canada-EU Trade agreement, known as CETA, will bring in several thousand tonnes of European cheese products into Canada with no tariff. Due to CFIG efforts, the government determined that 30% of the allocation would go to small- and medium-sized retailers and distributors, while 20% would go to the larger retailers and distributors. This is a five-year process and over this period, CFIG will be monitoring the implementation.

As the current Ontario government moves towards opening up the sale of beer and wine into all grocery stores in the province, CFIG is fighting to ensure fairness in the new framework. A system that in our view needs minimum pricing, increased margins and more flexibility for cross merchandising. Other measures that CFIG has already won include lower AGCO inspection fees (slashed for independents from $7000 to $1000) and exemption from providing a letter of credit.

In 2019, when it was announced that Loblaw had received a $12 million grant from Canada’s Ministry of Environment, we learned that the program they accessed had been concluded and in any event, there was a minimum $1 million spend on the part of the applicant. CFIG advocated vigorously to Ottawa that this was unacceptable. As a result, new energy support programs have been launched, geared largely to small- and medium-sized businesses.

CFIG and the Small Business Matters Coalition we led, pushed for a small business tax reduction and further support for business investment. CFIG was invited to join the Prime Minister when the Federal government lowered the small business tax rate to 9% (now the lowest in the G7) effective in January 2019. As well, the government brought forward the ACCI which allows businesses to write off investments in the first year of purchase, as opposed to a multi-year write off.

CFIG advocated to the federal government the need to recognize the unique challenges of a small business grocer. When new labelling requirements were imposed on the food industry, all products produced in-store or in a commissary for sale in a one-store operation, were exempted from nutritional and allergen labelling requirements. This has saved single- and multi-store grocers thousands of dollars annually. In January 2019, when the Safe Food for Canadians Act was proclaimed, CFIG’s efforts ensured that this exemption was maintained, in the face of opposition from some groups who wanted the exemption repealed