Shoppers converged on downtown Toronto location, angered by high prices
Times change, but gripes over high grocery prices do not.
Long before this month's Reddit-powered Loblaws boycott, an earlier generation of fed-up shoppers had their own beef with the grocery giant's prices.
And that's why, on Oct. 21, 1966, they headed to a Loblaws in downtown Toronto.
The newspapers had expected 2,000 protesters. But when only a few dozen arrived, the ensuing media coverage focused on the low turnout of the unhappy "housewives."
Dozens, not thousands
The Toronto Star put the turnout at 65, running the news the next day under a Page 2 headline focusing on the relatively "few women" who showed up at the Loblaws near Yonge and Bloor streets.
The Globe and Mail, meanwhile, went with a two-line headline on its front page: "Heralded Loblaw invasion fizzles to minor skirmish." It had the number of protesters at just 25.
The protesters were part of a group called HOME — though The Star, The Globe and CBC News each reported different versions of what the acronym meant. Their stories went with variations of "Housewives Organization for Moderate Economy" and "Home Housewives Organizations for Modern Economy."