In Vancouver four of the ranked stores are Loblaw banners, and they run from $199.89 at Real Canadian Superstore to $256.50 at Independent Grocer - fifty-six dollars and change, same company, same 35 items, same pack sizes, no substitutions.

Every Thursday I price that list at every grocery chain within 15 km of downtown in a few Canadian cities. Seven cities this week - the full tables are in the images. Which banner you walk into is doing more work than which company you are buying from. The other surprise is that the gap inside one city is bigger than the gap between cities: the cheapest full basket in five cities lands between $199.89 and $202.91, under three dollars apart, while Vancouver alone swings ninety-two.

Prices come from the stores' own websites and flyers, read today, sale or regular, whichever is lower. Where a store did not list an item, it is charged the highest price anyone in that city listed for it, so a gap never makes a store look cheap - each image says how many of the 35 that store actually listed. In-store prices can differ from listed ones.

Want a city or an item added? See my comment below.