Canadian retail sales rose 1.2% to $74.6 billion in August

Statistics Canada reported that seasonally adjusted retail sales rose 1.2% to $74.6 billion in August 2026. Sales increased in all nine subsectors, and the volume measure also rose 1.2%. Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors as well as motor vehicle and parts dealers, advanced 1.1% after falling 0.7% in July. The August release was published on 23 October.

Motor vehicle and parts dealers recorded the largest subsector increase, up 1.2%. New-car dealer sales rose 1.5% after a 1.4% decline in July. Gasoline station and fuel-vendor sales increased 1.7%, the first rise in three months, although their sales volume fell 0.5%. Food and beverage retailers rose 1.1%, their first gain in three months, and health and personal-care retailers posted a tenth consecutive monthly increase, up 1.6%.

Results differed by province. Sales rose in six provinces; Ontario had the largest increase in dollar terms, up 2.2%, with Toronto-area sales rising 4.0%. British Columbia sales increased 2.1%, while Alberta was the only province with a reported decline, down 0.1%. Online retail sales rose 1.1% to $5.6 billion and represented 7.6% of total retail trade.

Statistics Canada’s advance indicator suggested retail sales increased 0.7% in September. It is an unofficial early estimate based on responses from 58.5% of surveyed companies and may be revised; the survey’s average final response rate over the prior 12 months was 86.8%. It should therefore be distinguished from the finalized August results. The agency scheduled the September retail release for 20 November.

The figures are seasonally adjusted and expressed in current dollars unless otherwise specified. The volume series removes price changes using consumer price indexes. Statistics Canada notes that common e-commerce purchases such as travel and accommodation bookings, ticket purchases and financial transactions are excluded from retail e-commerce. These series describe retail sales; they do not by themselves identify the cause of a month’s change or measure household spending across all services.

The release separates current-dollar sales from volume because a dollar increase can reflect a change in prices as well as the amount sold. In August, Statistics Canada reported the same 1.2% increase for total sales and the volume measure, but the two concepts remain different. The advance September estimate is still less complete than the regular estimate: its response share was below the survey’s recent average final response rate, and the agency explicitly says the result may change.

The estimates are survey results for retail businesses under the agency’s stated coverage and concepts, so they should not be treated as a census of every consumer transaction.