July 15, 2025
Statistics Canada announced that wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) edged up 0.1% to $84.2 billion in May.
The Federal agency notes that sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, representing 60.4% of total wholesale sales. The largest gain came from the personal and household goods subsector (+3.5%), followed by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+2.2%). Wholesale sales were 1.8% higher in May compared with the same month one year earlier.
Feedback from respondents for May indicated that the impact of trade tensions between Canada and the United States eased slightly in the month. The share of respondents indicating that the ongoing trade issues had an impact on their businesses fell from 43.6% in April to 36.9% in May.
Three provinces reported higher sales in May, led by British Columbia.
After declining for three consecutive months, sales in British Columbia increased 4.1% to $8.1 billion in May. Three of the seven subsectors reported higher sales, driven by the building material and supplies subsector (+12.3%).
In May, Ontario (+0.6%) posted the second-largest provincial increase. The growth was solely concentrated in the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (+7.9%).
Conversely, Quebec (-1.5%) posted the largest decline in May. Sales decreased in four of the seven subsectors, with the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector (-10.8%) reporting the largest decline.