In the city of Toronto you cannot purchase (reasonably price) groceries without purchasing from Lowlaw or Metro. Canadian consumers don't really realize this however because of the various brand names - Independent City Market, No Frills, Fortino's etc..
The amount of control Loblaw has over the market is astounding.
Try finding pasta sauce at a Loblaw owned store. There will be 1-2 non house brands, the rest are all Loblaw owned brands.
Or walk into a Wal Mart and check the price of coffee. Significantly more expensive than Loblaw because Wal Mart Canada doesn't have the purchasing power the Westons have.
Fairly typical in Canada. Duopoloies / Oligopolies across most large industries that are heavily protected by the government (banking, telecom, air travel, grocery, insurance)
