IGA (Canada)

IGA, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
FoundersIndependent retailer owners
Area served
Canada (primarily Quebec)
ParentSobeys
Websiteiga.net
IGA store (left) on Dundas Street in Toronto, September 1957.

IGA is a group of independent grocers in Canada supplied by Sobeys, which franchises the name from IGA, Inc. Acquired by Sobeys as part of its purchase of the Oshawa Group Ltd., it now operates primarily in Quebec.

The IGA operations in Atlantic Canada were sold to Loblaw Companies Limited (except for Edmundston, Shediac and Dieppe which runs as IGA-Co-op, previously acquired by Sobeys New Brunswick) and were restructured under its existing brands. The company-owned stores west of Quebec now mainly operate under the Sobeys banner. In Ontario, IGA stores have been converted to the Foodland banner.[citation needed] There are, however, many IGA stores still operating in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, with one opening in Emerald Park, Saskatchewan in 2016.[1][2]

IGA Extra locations are larger and carry a wider variety of general merchandise, more akin to the hypermarket model. They include a pharmacy, large bakery, a bank, a bistro, a post office, and a larger selection of food items. IGA Extra launched in the early 2000s to take the place of Sobeys locations in the Quebec City and Montreal areas. In 2015, several Co-op Atlantic stores became IGA stores supplied by Sobeys Quebec after Co-op decided to exit the grocery store business.

In Quebec, IGA also operates smaller supermarkets. These include Bonichoix and Tradition (a brand introduced in 1999).

In British Columbia, except for the towns of Fort Nelson, Chetwynd and Golden, IGA stores (previously Marketplace IGA) are, for the most part, independently owned and are operated by Georgia Main Food Group.[3]

  1. ^ "IGA (Canada) - Fresh Food, Friendly Neighbours". Archived from the original on 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  2. ^ Regina Leader-Post (26 August 2016). "First IGA store in Western Canada in 15 years opens in Emerald Park". Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  3. ^ H.Y. Louie Co. Limited rebrands, introduces new company name: Georgia Main Food Group Archived 2018-10-01 at the Wayback Machine, Western Grocer Media Release, October 1, 2018.