Here's how much a Thanksgiving turkey costs at 8 Toronto grocery stores

Turkey season has consumers searching for ways to save ahead of Thanksgiving weekend with a crucial question lingering – where can I buy the cheapest turkey?

With Canadians' pockets pinched by high prices, the federal government pledged to take action, announcing that Loblaws, Metro, Empire, Walmart and Costco would lower grocery prices in the coming weeks.

• IN PHOTOS: Where to buy the cheapest turkey

In the meantime, CTV News Toronto went on a turkey hunt to eight grocery stores in Toronto to find the cheapest bird. To level the playing field, we focused on the generic brand sold at nearly every store, Butterball, and zeroed in on fresh turkey prices. All of the listed prices are based on what was posted at the stores on Wednesday afternoon.

Here’s our list of prices from lowest to highest:

NO FRILLS

When it comes to turkey, it turns out the No Frills catch phrase – won’t be beat – is true. Their turkey was priced at $2.49 per pound.

SOBEYS

Matching No Frills, a turkey was priced at $2.49 per pound at Sobeys with the help of their weekly flyer handout.

FARM BOY

While every other chain store sold the Butterball brand, Farm Boy offered its own in-house bird from Dashwood, a small town in southwestern Ontario, for a competitive price.

A fresh local Grade A turkey, the highest quality grade and commonly the only one sold at a retail-level, cost $2.99 per pound at Farm Boy.

Turkey sold at Farm Boy in Toronto.

FOOD BASICS

A Butterball turkey at Food Basics came to $3.29 per pound, just 20 cents below Loblaws and FreshCo.

Turkey sold at Food Basics in Toronto.

LOBLAWS

A fresh Butterball turkey labelled as on sale at Loblaws, reduced 50 cents, cost $3.49 per pound.

Turkey sold at Loblaws in Toronto.

FRESHCO

Mirroring the price of turkey at Loblaws right to the cent, a Butterball cost $3.49 per pound at FreshCo.

Turkey sold at FreshCo in Toronto.

LONGOS

A flyer feature for fresh Butterball came to $3.99 per pound at a Longo’s location.

Turkey sold at Longos in Toronto.

METRO

A fresh Butterball turkey sold at a Metro store cost $4.49 per pound. The cost is reflective of price tags seen in stores on Wednesday. However, since then, a Metro spokesperson pointed out a flyer feature is now available offering the product for $2.69.

Turkey sold at Metro in Toronto.