May 15, 2026
Canadian wholesale sales rose 1.9 percent in March
Statistics Canada announced that Canadian wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) rose 1.9% to $89.0 billion in March.
The Federal agency says sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, representing 79.6% of total wholesale sales. The largest increase came from the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector. Wholesale sales were 3.3% higher in March than in the same month one year earlier.
Six provinces recorded higher wholesale sales, led by Ontario and Alberta.
Ontario posted the largest increase in sales, up 3.5% to $46.4 billion in March, marking the fourth increase in six months. Higher sales were recorded in five of the seven subsectors. The machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+8.2% to $9.8 billion) reached the highest level of sales on record. Alberta posted the second-largest increase in provincial sales in March, rising 3.2% to $9.7 billion. Sales increased in five of the seven subsectors, with the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector (+10.7% to $3.0 billion) reporting the largest increase.
Partly offsetting the provincial gains, wholesale sales in Quebec declined 2.2% to $15.7 billion in March. Overall, four of the seven subsectors posted lower sales, led by the food, beverage and tobacco subsector (-5.5% to $3.6 billion).