Total sales in the food services and drinking places subsector increased for the fourth consecutive month in November, rising 1.4% to $8.3 billion.
Non-seasonally adjusted prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 3.4% in November when compared with November 2023, and unadjusted prices for alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments increased 2.3% over the same period.
Chart 1: Sales in food services and drinking places
Description - Chart 1
Data table: Sales in food services and drinking places
Notes: The higher variability associated with the trend-cycle estimates is indicated with a dotted line on the chart for the current reference month and the previous three months. For more information, see the Note to readers.
Source: Table 21-10-0019-01.
Full-service restaurants lead gains
In November 2024, the largest increase in sales came from full-service restaurants (+1.8%), the industry's fourth consecutive monthly increase. Higher sales were also observed in limited-service eating places (+1.0%), special food services (+1.4%) and drinking places (+1.6%).
Sales up in eight provinces
In November, eight provinces saw increased sales, with Ontario (+2.1%) posting the largest gain in dollar terms, coinciding with the six Taylor Swift concerts held at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Sales were up at both full-service (+2.5%) and limited-service (+1.8%) restaurants in Ontario. British Columbia (+2.7%) also posted a large increase in sales, rebounding from the previous month's decline. Alberta (-0.6%) posted the largest sales decrease.
Looking for more insight?
Further information is available in the "Food Services and Drinking Places Sales" dashboard, where users can consult data on sales in food services and drinking places for Canada and by province and territory. This application allows users to compare provincial and territorial data through interactive maps and charts.
Note to readers
Unless otherwise noted, all data in this release are seasonally adjusted and expressed in current dollars. Seasonally adjusted data are data that have been modified to eliminate the effect of seasonal and calendar influences to allow for more meaningful comparisons of economic conditions from period to period. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Trend-cycle data are included in selected charts to complement the seasonally adjusted series. These data represent a smoothed version of the seasonally adjusted time series and provide information on longer-term movements, including changes in direction underlying the series. For information on trend-cycle data, see the page Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.
Data for the current reference month are preliminary. Usually, unadjusted data are revised for the previous two months, and seasonally adjusted data are revised for the previous three months. Both seasonally adjusted data and trend-cycle estimates are subject to revision as additional observations become available. These revisions could be large and could even lead to a reversal of movement, especially for reference months near the end of the series or during periods of economic disruption.
Find these data and more statistics on the Business and consumer services and culture statistics portal.
Reference
Data table: 21-10-0019-01.
- Note: some data tables may best be viewed on desktop.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2419.
Previous release: Food services and drinking places, October 2024.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).