The company controlled 80 percent of the grocery market in Alberta in the 1970s, causing the government to accuse Safeway of having a monopoly on the supermarket business, resulting in unnecessarily high food prices.

A judicial inquiry restricted the number of stores Safeway could open, and forced the company to close or sell some locations to competitors like IGA.

In October 1986, the Canadian Press reported that Safeway Canada took an $8 million loss by closing a prime store at West Edmonton Mall, which, at that time, was the world's largest shopping centre.

Upon the Real Canadian Superstore's opening, Loblaws produced television commercials with an aggressive tone, taking direct aim at Safeway's higher prices.

One ad featured a man holding a rolled-up Safeway newspaper flyer, while promising viewers they would find lower prices at the Real Canadian Superstore.

[citation needed] In late 1987, Safeway acquired the 26 Woodward's Food Floors, which operated in the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia (16 stores) and Alberta (10).

On June 12, 2013, Sobeys announced it would acquire Safeway's operations in Canada for CDN$5.8 billion, subject to regulatory approval.

[7] As a condition of the deal imposed by the Competition Bureau in October 2013, Sobeys was required to sell 23 of its retail locations to other companies.

Following the acquisition of the chain by Sobeys, ten Safeway gas stations in Winnipeg and Moose Jaw were converted to Shell as a pilot project.