Lots of parties at this time of year… with family, friends, co-workers. Toasts are made. Some accompanied by a glass of alcohol. Let’s imbibe in some alcohol-related data this holiday season, paired with some sobering stats.
Three in four Canadian adults drink alcohol
Just over three-quarters (76.5%) of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported drinking alcohol in 2019, with men (78.3%) slightly more likely than women (74.7%) to drink. Canadians aged 20 to 24 years (84.4%) were most likely to report drinking alcohol.
Canadian households spent on average $1,803 on tobacco, alcohol or cannabis in 2021, a bit more than what they spent on education or home furnishings.
Largest decline in volume of alcohol sales in over a decade
The volume of alcohol sold in Canada declined 1.2% to 3.1 billion litres in 2021/2022, which is equivalent to 9.5 standard alcoholic beverages per week per Canadian of legal drinking age. This was the first decline since 2013/2014 and the largest drop in over a decade.
The volume of beer sales declined 2.8% to 2.1 billion litres, which is equivalent to a record low 3.7 standard bottles of beer per week per person of legal drinking age.
By volume, wine sales declined at their fastest pace on record, falling 4.0% to 516 million litres in 2021/2022, which is equivalent to 2.4 standard glasses of wine per week per person of legal drinking age.
Among Canadians who bought wine, red wine was top choice (52.3%), followed by white (33.0%), sparkling (7.6%) and rosé, fortified and other wines (7.1%).
Just over one-quarter (25.8%) of the alcoholic beverages sold in 2021/2022 were spirits, while ciders and coolers accounted for the remaining 8.0%.
Some sobering stats on drinking alcohol
Most Canadians drink moderately.
However, in 2021, almost 5.1 million people, or 15.6% of Canadians aged 12 years and older, told us they engaged in heavy drinking, defined as having five or more drinks for men and four or more for women, on one occasion, at least once a month in the past year. Nevertheless, this was the lowest level of heavy drinking since we first asked in 2015.
Canadians aged 18 to 34 years (1.7 million people) were most likely to report being heavy drinkers in 2021, down 10.1% from a year earlier and almost one-third (31.5%) lower compared with 2015.
The share of Canadians aged 65 years and older who reported heavy drinking rose from 6.7% in 2015 to 7.9% in 2021.
When drinking crosses the line
Police forces across Canada reported 53,092 alcohol-related impaired driving incidents in 2022, up 1.4% from a year earlier but 8.5% below 2020, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over half of the incidents of impaired driving led to a charge, with 28,530 adults and 218 youth charged in 2022.
There were 359 alcohol-related car accidents that resulted in bodily harm in 2022 and 53 caused death.
Alcohol-related deaths up by over one-fifth since the beginning of the pandemic
Alcohol-related deaths have risen by over one-fifth (+21.0%) since the beginning of the pandemic, with 3,875 deaths attributable to drinking alcohol in 2021. Approximately two-thirds (2,525) of alcohol-related deaths in 2021 occurred among Canadians aged 64 years and younger, while one-third (1,345) occurred among those aged 65 years and older.
From 2019 to 2021, the number of alcohol-related deaths among Canadians aged 64 years and younger (+27.0%) rose at more than three times the pace compared with those aged 65 years and older (+8.0%).
StatsCAN app
Did you know you can read StatsCAN Plus articles and more on the StatsCAN app? If you’re already using the app, let us know what you think by leaving a review in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).