Total sales in the food services and drinking places subsector increased in January, rising 0.2% to $8.3 billion.
Non-seasonally adjusted prices for food purchased from restaurants were down 5.1% in January when compared with January 2024. Unadjusted prices for alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments decreased 3.1% over the same period. These decreases were due to the federal tax holiday, which started in December and was in effect the entire month of January.
Chart 1: Sales in food services and drinking places
Description - Chart 1
Data table: Sales in food services and drinking places
Note: 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.
Limited-service eating places lead gains
In January, the largest increase in dollar terms came from higher sales at limited-service eating places (+0.8%), the industry's 10th consecutive monthly increase. Higher sales were also observed in special food services (+2.2%). Sales at full-service restaurants (-0.7%) and drinking places (-0.5%) declined. Year-over-year increases were observed at full-service restaurants (+6.9%), limited-service eating places (+4.4%) and special food services (+9.3%).
Sales up in seven provinces
In January, seven provinces saw increased sales, with Ontario (+0.4%) posting the largest gain in dollar terms. In percentage terms, the highest increases were observed in New Brunswick (+3.5%), Prince Edward Island (+2.3%), Nova Scotia (+2.1%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+1.7%), the provinces with the greatest tax break during the tax holiday.
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, December 2024.
Contact information
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