July 20, 2026
Statistics Canada announced that Canadian wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were essentially unchanged (-0.0%), with sales sitting at $90.0 billion in May, after rising 1.4% in April.
In May, sales decreased in four of the seven subsectors, representing 68.0% of total wholesale sales. The largest decreases came from the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (-1.5% to $16.0 billion) and the personal and household goods subsector (-0.6% to $13.1 billion).
The declines were partly offset by stronger sales in the non-agricultural chemical and allied product industry group (+14.2% to $2.2 billion).
The Federal agency says wholesale sales were 7.4% higher in May compared with the same month one year earlier.
In May, eight provinces recorded lower sales, led by Quebec and British Columbia.
The lower sales in Quebec (-1.8% to $15.7 billion) in May were the result of a drop in three of the seven subsectors. The food, beverage and tobacco subsector (-6.7% to $3.3 billion) drove the decrease.
British Columbia (-2.6% to $8.2 billion) posted the second-largest decrease in provincial wholesale sales in May. Sales decreased in six of the seven subsectors, with the building material and supplies subsector (-9.0% to $1.9 billion) reporting the largest decrease.