Food services and drinking places, March 2018
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Released: 2018-05-25
$6.0 billion
March 2018
1.3% 
(monthly change)
$71.5 million
March 2018
1.0%
(monthly change)
$22.0 million
March 2018
-1.3% 
(monthly change)
$139.4 million
March 2018
1.1%
(monthly change)
$100.4 million
March 2018
0.2%
(monthly change)
$1,104.6 million
March 2018
0.5%
(monthly change)
$2,407.3 million
March 2018
2.0%
(monthly change)
$171.4 million
March 2018
0.8%
(monthly change)
$157.7 million
March 2018
-0.3%
(monthly change)
$776.8 million
March 2018
2.0%
(monthly change)
$991.6 million
March 2018
0.3%
(monthly change)
$6.2 million
March 2018
4.7%
(monthly change)
$10.0 million
March 2018
17.7%
(monthly change)
$2.4 million
March 2018
7.7%
(monthly change)
Sales in the food services and drinking places subsector were up 1.3% to $6.0 billion in March. Higher sales at limited-service (+1.5%) and full-service (+1.1%) restaurants accounted for most of the gain. Sales increases were also reported in the special food services industry group (+1.5%) and drinking places (+0.8%).
Chart 1
Sales at food services and drinking places
Higher sales were reported in eight provinces, with the largest increase in Ontario (+2.0%). Following two consecutive months of sales declines, Alberta (+2.0%) posted a sales gain in March. Sales in Saskatchewan (-0.3%) and Prince Edward Island (-1.3%) declined.
To find out more, consult the dashboard entitled Food Services and Drinking Places Sales. This web application provides access to data on the sales of food services and drinking places for Canada, the provinces and territories. This dynamic application allows users to compare provincial and territorial data with interactive maps and charts.
Sales in food services and drinking places subsector increase in the first quarter of 2018
The figures in this section are based on unadjusted (that is, not seasonally adjusted) estimates.
Unadjusted year-over-year sales were up in the food services and drinking places subsector, increasing 5.4% in the first quarter of 2018 compared with the first quarter of 2017.
Sales in each of the following industry groups increased: full-service restaurants (+6.2%), limited service restaurants (+5.6%), special food services (+2.1%) and drinking places (+0.9%). Sales increased in most of the provinces, with the largest gains in dollar terms being in Ontario (+6.7%), Quebec (+5.4%), British Columbia (+7.6%) and Alberta (+2.2%). Newfoundland and Labrador (-1.1%) was the only province to report declines in the first quarter of 2018.
Prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 4.4% in March 2018 compared with March 2017 and prices for alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments were up 2.2% in the same period.
Note to readers
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted and expressed in current dollars unless otherwise noted. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
For information on trend-cycle data, see the StatCan Blog and Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.
Data for the current reference month are preliminary. Usually, unadjusted data are revised for the two previous months, and seasonally adjusted data are revised for the three previous months.
With the release of the March 2018 preliminary estimates, unadjusted monthly data were revised back to January 2009 and seasonally adjusted data were revised back to January 2006 in CANSIM table 355-0006. Factors influencing revisions include late receipt of respondent information, corrections to the information provided, the replacement of imputed data with reported data (once available), introducing new births, utilizing the most recent administrative data, the re-classification of companies within, into and out of the food services and drinking places subsector, and updates to seasonal factors.
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; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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