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Although beer remains by far the most popular alcoholic beverage in Canada, growth in the volume of wine sales continued to outpace growth in sales of beer and spirits. And for the second year in a row, sales of wine in dollar terms surpassed sales of spirits.

In total, Canada’s beer and liquor stores and agencies sold more than $17.3 billion worth of alcoholic beverages during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, up 6.1% from the year before. This increase reflects, in part, the end of the three-month strike at the Société des alcools du Québec in 2004/2005.

In litres of absolute alcohol, the volume of sales of alcoholic beverages edged up 3.8% in 2005/2006 to 211.9 million litres.

As usual, beer was by far the most popular beverage. In terms of dollar value, beer captured 48.6% of sales, wine 26.6% and spirits 24.8%.

Consumers bought more than 2.2 billion litres of beer, up 2.9% from 2004/2005. This volume was worth more than $8.4 billion, a 4.8% increase.

The value of wine sales rose 8.9% in 2005/2006, faster than the 5.5% growth in the spirits market. In terms of volume, wine sales were up 5.9%, twice the rate of growth of 2.9% in the volume of spirits.

On a per capita basis, Canadians aged 15 and over spent the equivalent of $651.50 on alcoholic beverages in 2005/2006, up $28 from the previous year.

Revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages plus the net income realized by provincial and territorial liquor authorities hit $4.7 billion in 2005/2006, up 4.8% from the previous year. The increase is due in part to the end of a three-month strike at the Société des alcools du Québec in 2004/2005.

Provincially, net income increased fastest in Prince Edward Island (+8.1%), Nova Scotia (+6.6%) and Manitoba (+6.0%) with the exception of Quebec, where it surged 21.4%, reflecting a return to normal activities after the strike.

Wine’s popularity keeps growing

Wineries and liquor stores and agencies sold $4.6 billion worth of wines in 2005/2006, up 8.9% from 2004/2005. In terms of volume, Canadians bought 378.7 million litres of wine, up 5.9% from 2004/2005.

In 2005/2006, red wines clearly asserted their dominance over white wines, with sales of 192.7 million litres. These sales accounted for 60% of the total volume of red and white wines sold.

Almost 75% of all red wines sold in Canada were from other countries, compared with just over 50% for white wines.

In the last 10 years, the value of sales of imported wines grew at an annual average rate of 9.5%, compared with 5.7% for Canadian products.

On a per capita basis, Canadians aged 15 and over spent $173.10 on wines in 2005/2006, an increase of almost $12 from the previous year.

The value of sales of wine increased in all provinces in 2005/2006 with noticeable gains in Newfoundland and Labrador (+15.4%), Alberta (+11.2%) and Manitoba (+11.0%).

Consumers in Quebec bought the most wine by far. They accounted for 35% of all wine sold in Canada in 2005/2006, and 42% of all red wine.

Three provinces reported higher volume of sales of white wines than red wines: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The volume of sales of other wines, such as fortified, aperitif and sparkling wines, followed a very different pattern in 2005/2006. These sales were down 3.2% from 2004/2005.

Beer: Imported brands still on the rise

On a per capita basis, Canadians aged 15 and over bought $316.90 worth of beer in 2005/2006, compared with $306.60 the year before.

The growth in volume of sales of imported beer continues to outpace sales of domestic brands. The volume of imported beer sold surged 15.0% in 2005/2006, while sales of domestic brands increased 1.6%.

By volume, imported beer continued to increase its market share. In 2005/2006, foreign brands captured 11.1% of the beer market in Canada, up from 9.9% in 2004/2005.

The value of sales of beer increased in all provinces except Saskatchewan (-1.9%).

Spirits: Coolers on the down side

Liquor stores and agencies sold $4.3 billion worth of spirits in 2005/2006, up 5.5% from the previous year. Again, part of the increase reflects the end of the strike in Quebec. Canadian products represented 62% of these sales.

After experiencing high popularity in the second half of the 1990s, the value of sales of spirit-based coolers has declined in Canada for a second year in a row.

Sales of imported spirits rose 9.2% to $1.6 billion, almost three times the rate of growth of Canadian spirits.

On a per capita basis, Canadians aged 15 and over spent $161.60 for spirits in 2005/2006, an increase of $6 from the previous year.

The volume of sales of spirits increased 2.9% in 2005/2006 to 202.6 million litres.

While domestic producers dominated the spirits market, the sales volume of imported spirits increased 6.4% to 58.3 million litres. Sales of Canadian spirits rose a modest 1.5% to 144.3 million litres.

Whisky type products, such as whisky, scotch and bourbon, are still the preferred spirits choice of Canadians, accounting for almost 30% of all spirits sales in 2005/2006. Almost 70% of these sales were Canadian products.

Provincially, value of sales of spirits in 2005/2006 rose in all provinces, with noticeable increases in Alberta (+8.4%), Nova Scotia (+7.2%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+6.0%). In Quebec , the value of sales rose 13.2%, reflecting the three-month strike at the Société des alcools du Québec in 2004/2005.

Note(s):  The per capita volume of Northwest Territories and Nunavut are combined since the distribution centre in Nunavut is not representative of all sales of this territory.