Food services and drinking places, March 2019
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Released: 2019-05-28
$6.2 billion
March 2019
1.2% 
(monthly change)
$72.1 million
March 2019
-1.5% 
(monthly change)
$24.5 million
March 2019
2.7%
(monthly change)
$140.1 million
March 2019
0.1%
(monthly change)
$107.5 million
March 2019
2.4%
(monthly change)
$1,183.4 million
March 2019
1.0%
(monthly change)
$2,475.2 million
March 2019
0.9%
(monthly change)
$182.8 million
March 2019
1.5%
(monthly change)
$160.1 million
March 2019
1.6%
(monthly change)
$783.5 million
March 2019
2.0%
(monthly change)
$1,041.0 million
March 2019
1.4%
(monthly change)
$5.6 million
March 2019
1.2%
(monthly change)
$6.6 million
March 2019
-1.9%
(monthly change)
$1.6 million
March 2019
1.0%
(monthly change)
On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales in the food services and drinking places subsector increased 1.2% to $6.2 billion in March. Higher sales were reported in limited-service restaurants (+1.9%), full-service restaurants (+1.0%) and drinking places (+1.0%). Sales decreased in special food services (-1.8%).
Chart 1
Sales at food services and drinking places
Higher sales were reported in nine provinces, with the greatest increases in dollar terms in Ontario (+0.9%), Alberta (+2.0%), British Columbia (+1.4%) and Quebec (+1.0%). The only decrease was in Newfoundland and Labrador (-1.5%).
Further information can be found in 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 and by province and territory. This dynamic application allows users to compare provincial and territorial data through interactive maps and charts.
Strong sales in the food services and drinking places subsector in the first quarter of 2019
The figures in this section are based on unadjusted (that is, not seasonally adjusted) estimates.
Unadjusted sales in the first quarter were up in the food services and drinking places subsector, increasing 4.5% compared with the first quarter of 2018. Sales in each of the following industry groups increased: full-service restaurants (+4.9%), limited-service restaurants (+4.0%), special food services (+5.3%) and drinking places (+5.5%).
In the first quarter, sales increased in every province, with the largest gains in dollar terms in Ontario (+4.4%), Quebec (+6.5%) and British Columbia (+4.7%).
Prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 3.0% in the first quarter compared with the first quarter of 2018 and prices for alcoholic beverages served in licenced establishments were up 2.5% in the same period.
Prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 2.8% in March compared with March 2018 and prices for alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments were up 2.1% 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 2019 preliminary estimates, unadjusted monthly data were revised back to July 2011 in table 21-10-0019-01. 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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