January forecast: Cold, wet and dry

Cold weather in January is virtually guaranteed in the Great White North. Whether your month ends up being wet or dry in terms of alcohol consumption is a choice some people ponder as the new year begins. For almost one in four Canadian adults, every day is dry.

To better understand regular drinking behaviour, the 2023 Canadian Community Health Survey asked Canadians about their alcohol use. In 2023, more than three in four adults (77%) in Canada (excluding the territories) reported drinking at least one alcoholic beverage in the past 12 months.

In the seven days preceding the survey, over half (54%) of Canadians aged 18 and older reported not drinking any alcohol, 15% reported drinking one to two standard alcoholic drinks, 15% reported drinking three to six drinks and 15% reported drinking seven or more drinks.

Heavy drinking refers to men who had five or more drinks, or women who had four or more drinks, on one occasion, at least once a month in the past year.

In 2024, 6.2 million Canadians reported “heavy drinking,” up from 6 million a year earlier but below the record-high 6.4 million in 2022.

A larger share of men reported heavy drinking in 2024 than women (23% of men versus 16% of women).

In 2023, Canadian households spent an average of $1,185 on alcoholic beverages, with $742 bought from a store and $441 spent at a licensed establishment such as a restaurant or bar. Notably, Canadian households spent more on alcohol in 2023 than they did on fruit ($1,073) or vegetables ($1,031).

Alberta ($1,662) and Quebec ($1,372) were Canada’s wettest provinces in terms of average household spending on alcohol, while Saskatchewan ($710) and New Brunswick ($835) were the driest.

January has traditionally been the driest month when it comes to alcohol sales in Canada and December the wettest.

In January 2024, for example, retailers sold just under $1.9 billion of alcohol compared with $3.3 billion in December 2023. It is unclear whether that month-over-month drop in sales is related to Canadians embracing a “dry January,” or simply finishing up all the alcohol bought, received or leftover from the holiday season.

Throughout the rest of the year, alcohol sales generally spike in March with the coming of spring and St. Patrick’s Day, reputedly the busiest day of the year for drinking establishments, and in the summer months.

Alcohol is more expensive than most non-alcoholic beverages—always an important consideration. In November 2025, Canadians were paying 2.3% more for alcohol compared with 12 months earlier.

There are also health considerations associated with drinking alcohol, hence its restriction to adults of legal drinking age.

Heavy drinkers are at higher risk of developing chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. In 2023, 4,374 Canadians died of these conditions, making them the 10th leading cause of death in Canada during the year.

A further 3,125 Canadians under the age of 75 died of alcohol and drug use disorders (excluding overdoses). Indeed, the long-term effects of alcohol and drug use claim significantly more lives under the age of 75 than do motor vehicle accidents of all age groups combined (1,780 deaths in 2023).

The upcoming report “Changes in alcohol consumption from 2015 to 2024” will be released in February as part of our Insights on Canadian Society series.