Pharmacy chains report GLP-1 growth

What happened

On 13 September 2026, The Canadian Press (CP) published a report by Ritika Dubey on how pharmacy units at grocery chains are doing as GLP-1 sales grow. Every figure below is as CP reported it. We haven’t checked them against the companies’ own filings.

Loblaw, which owns Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix, reported a roughly 40% surge in GLP-1 sales in each of its last two quarters, CP said. Loblaw executives project double-digit growth for GLP-1 sales in 2027. On a July earnings call, chief executive Per Bank told analysts that the impact of GLP-1 drugs going generic was beginning to show, that it was still very early, and that the initial indications were encouraging.

CP also reported same-store sales, which compare sales at stores open in both periods. Loblaw’s drug retail same-store sales grew 4.6% in its latest quarter, and same-store sales at Metro’s pharmacies, which include Jean Coutu, grew 4.8%. Both outpaced food, and CP said the gains were driven by prescriptions.

Metro’s outgoing chief executive, Eric La Flèche, told analysts in August 2026 that as generic supply builds he expects growth in the GLP-1 category to drive low-teens growth in volume. A Veritas analyst, Kathleen Wong, wrote in a note on Metro’s results that higher volumes should offset a meaningful portion of the price pressure from generics. She added that the resulting price deflation, meaning falling prices, is likely to pull down pharmacy same-store sales measured in dollars.

What it means in Canada

This report is about pharmacy chains’ results, not about what you pay. What it shows is that large pharmacy operators are planning around more prescriptions for GLP-1 medications and around generic versions of semaglutide.

CP cited a March Leger poll in which 8% of Canadians, about three million people, were on prescription GLP-1s. Half of the respondents said insurance coverage or a lower-cost generic would increase their likelihood of using one.

On generics, we use Health Canada’s Drug Product Database (DPD), its public list of authorized drug products. On 3 October 2026 it listed six generic semaglutide products from four companies: Dr. Reddy’s, Apotex, Aspen and Sandoz. Two companies’ products showed as marketed, meaning the company has told Health Canada the product is on sale. They are Dr. Reddy’s, marketed from 6 May 2026, and Apotex’s Apo-Semaglutide, marketed from 14 May 2026. Four showed as approved, not yet marketed: Apotex’s Sevmia, two Aspen products and Sandoz Semaglutide, which Health Canada approved on 16 September 2026. See our generics page and our news item on the Sandoz approval.

Each province decides which products its drug plan pays for. Ontario’s formulary, the list of drugs the Ontario Drug Benefit pays for, added Apo-Semaglutide and Dr. Reddy’s semaglutide on 30 June 2026 as interchangeable with Ozempic under its Limited Use criteria. Limited Use means the plan pays only when set conditions are met. See Ontario coverage and coverage across Canada.

What hasn’t changed

The CP report gives company sales growth, not a price. We haven’t checked pharmacy prices for generic semaglutide, so our price pages don’t list any, and we don’t state a saving.

Nothing in the report changes your prescription or your plan’s rules. Our coverage pages show each province’s current rules as we checked them on 3 October 2026. If you take a brand-name GLP-1 now, talk to your prescriber or pharmacist before changing products.

The figures also describe two companies’ pharmacies. CP did not report results for independent pharmacies, so we can’t say how they compare.

What happens next

The report doesn’t say when Loblaw or Metro will next report GLP-1 results. Loblaw executives have projected double-digit growth in GLP-1 sales for 2027, which is a company projection, not a result.

We’ll update our generics page when the DPD shows a change in any product’s status. When a generic reaches your pharmacy:

1. Ask whether the pharmacy can order a Health Canada-authorized generic semaglutide, and by which product name.
2. Ask whether your province or private plan treats it as interchangeable with the brand on your prescription.
3. Ask for the total price, including the dispensing fee (what the pharmacy charges to fill a prescription), before you agree to fill it. Asking more than one pharmacy gives you something to compare.

See current brand prices on our price pages and ways to get a prescription on our providers page.