Restaurants, caterers and taverns

Total sales of the restaurants, caterers and taverns industry reached $3.0 billion in March, a 3.0% increase over March 2004 on a year-over-year basis. (Data are neither seasonally adjusted, nor adjusted for inflation.)

The most important year-over-year increases at the provincial level were recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador (+19.6%), Alberta (+8.4%) and Quebec (+5.3%). Ontario, which has the largest provincial share of the food service industry in Canada, with 39% of the food service industry sales in March 2005, recorded a year-over-year increase of 2.6%.

The year-over-year increase in sales, at the national level (+3.0%) was due to the increase in demand for food service contractors (+18.0%) and social and mobile caterers (+10.9%).

Note: The Monthly Restaurants, Caterers and Taverns Survey has undergone several important changes. Effective starting for the April 2004 reference month, the survey was restratified and a new sample was selected. Commencing with the reference month of May 2004, the survey incorporated increased use of GST data to reduce response burden and collection costs. As a result of these changes, total food services sales for Canada and the provinces/territories have been revised back to January 1998.

Detailed estimates by kind of business are available now. The next step in the revision will be on the number of locations.

Available on CANSIM: table 355-0001.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2419.

For more information, to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality, or to obtain the new methodology paper about the Monthly Restaurants, Caterers and Taverns Survey contact Alain Mbassegue (613-951-2011; fax: 613-951-6696, alain.mbassegue@statcan.gc.ca), Service Industries Division.