His report includes input from Dalhousie colleagues and data from Statistics Canada.

Charlebois notes that an expected strengthened American economy will push the Loonie down, which will drive our food prices up. Charlebois says other factors south of the border spell trouble for Canada, namely U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Charlebois points out that Trump’s “tough on immigration talk” is a mounting concern.

“More than two-million illegal immigrants work in agriculture in the United States. If you get rid of all of these people it becomes problematic for many farmers,” said Charlebois. “Already there are reported fields in the U.S. that are being left without being harvested.”

2016 was a wild year for food prices in Canada, as there were huge increases early in the year, then significant drops later on, according to Charlebois. The Food Price Report, released earlier this month, indicates that prices rose on average in Canada by 1.8 per cent for the first 10 months of 2016.

Charlebois expects the price of meats and vegetables to go up by four to six per cent next year in Canada, while dairy, breads and cereal are anticipated to stay even or rise by two percent. The report forecasts the cost of restaurant meals in the country to increase by an average of two to four per cent.