A Sobeys grocery store is seen in Halifax on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)
The Manitoba government is challenging four locations owned by Sobeys at the municipal board, escalating its fight against property controls that it says block grocery competition and keep food prices high.
Premier Wab Kinew and Public Service Delivery Minister Mintu Sandhu announced Thursday that seven property controls at four sites will be the first cases brought forward under the province’s new legislation.
The locations being challenged are 915 Leila Ave. and 50 Sage Creek Blvd. in Winnipeg, 178 Provincial Trunk Highway 12 in Steinbach, and 1645 18th St. in Brandon.
The Property Controls for Grocery Stores and Supermarkets Act, passed in June 2025, bans grocery stores from creating new restrictive covenants or exclusivity clauses. However, 43 property controls that existed before the legislation came into force remain in place — and the province says it intends to challenge every one of them.
“One company is still using property controls as a way of blocking competition, leaving buildings sitting vacant across the province,” said Kinew, in a release. “We’re standing up for Manitoba families, bringing a case against them to bring back competition and lower grocery bills.”
Empire Company Limited, which owns Sobeys, didn’t return a request for comment.
Watch Thursday’s news conference:
