November 19, 2025
Canadian wholesale sales rose 0.6% in September
Statistics Canada announced that wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and oilseed and grain) rose 0.6% in September.
The Federal agency reports gains in five subsectors outpaced declines in two others. This was the sixth increase in wholesale sales in nine months. Sales in September were 4.0% higher compared with the same month one year earlier.
Despite ongoing trade uncertainty, sales in the third quarter of 2025 were the highest on record for the wholesale sector, 0.2% higher than the previous record set in the first quarter of 2025.
Seven provinces recorded higher wholesale sales in September, led by Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia.
In Alberta, wholesale sales rose 2.0% to $9.9 billion in September, led by increases in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector and the food, beverage and tobacco subsector.
Wholesalers in Quebec reported a 1.2% increase in sales in September, on the strength of sales in the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (+2.5%). Wholesale sales in Quebec rose for the third time in four months and were 4.7% higher than in September 2024.
In British Columbia, wholesale sales rose 2.2% in September 2025, reflecting growth in the building material and supplies subsector and the mineral, ore and precious metals industry group. Total wholesale sales in British Columbia were at their highest level since January 2025.