US deal sites post “penny lists”: items a store marks down to $0.01 internally that you can sometimes buy for a cent. You'll see it on TikTok. It doesn't carry over to Canada.
Canada dropped the penny in 2013
- The Mint stopped handing out pennies on February 4, 2013. They're still legal tender.
- When you pay cash, only the final total after tax gets rounded to the nearest 5 cents. Totals ending in 1, 2, 6 or 7 round down, totals ending in 3, 4, 8 or 9 round up, and 0 or 5 stay put. So $1.57 becomes $1.55.
- Debit and credit are charged to the exact cent.
What about clearance price codes?
No Canadian retailer publishes a markdown code. That goes for Walmart Canada, Canadian Tire, Costco Canada, Best Buy and Loblaw. Price endings like .97 or an asterisk on the tag are forum theory, not policy. I won't post them as fact.
What does work in Canada: price adjustments, point events and free food alerts.
US note: the US Mint stopped making pennies for circulation on November 12, 2025. The penny is still legal tender there, and stores can still price to the cent.