A report from the University of Guelph's Food Institute forecasts food prices to increase about two to four per cent in 2016. That means the average Canadian family will spend up to $345 more on groceries this year.

Professor of distribution and food policy Sylvain Charlebois says the weak Canadian dollar and a lack of competition at the distributor level have contributed to these increases.

"There's much less competition in distribution than, say, a few years ago, so that is giving food distributors some leverage overall so they're able to protect their margins a little better and their financial results actually show that," he says. "So if anyone is expecting a price war anytime soon, don't hold your breath. It's just not going to happen -- at least in 2016."

Charlebois says grocery stores and food distributors are really focusing on strategy and consolidating, using the former Target Canada as an example.