Food prices are expected to increase as a result of Ottawa's carbon pricing.

That according to Sylvain Charlebois, professor of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"We are expecting overall food prices to increase by three per cent over five years as a result of the carbon tax," he said. "It is an increase, but it's not unmanageable for Canadians. We do understand that this policy is all about pricing carbon, in general. We are expecting some products to be affected more than others, because this tax actually will discriminate against certain products, especially products that are being imported from elsewhere."

Charlebois notes this could give an advantage to local producers.

"You need energy to transport products and obviously, you need a lot of logistics to transport products coming from overseas, so this could actually be an advantage for local products."

On Wednesday, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced a legal challenge against the federal carbon tax, which came into effect April 1, 2019.