Food services and drinking places, September 2019

Released: 2019-11-19

On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales in the food services and drinking places subsector increased 0.6% to $6.2 billion in September. Higher sales were reported in limited-service restaurants (+0.8%), full-service restaurants (+0.8%) and drinking places (+1.0%), whereas sales in special food services decreased 1.5%.

Five provinces reported increased sales. The greatest increase in dollar terms was in British Columbia (+2.5%), following decreases in the previous two months. Sales also rose in Quebec (+0.9%) and Alberta (+0.8%). Sales decreased in four provinces, with the largest decrease being in Ontario (-0.2%). Saskatchewan (-1.7%) also posted a large decrease, following increases in the last two months. Sales decreased in Prince Edward Island (-2.2%) for the third consecutive month.

Chart 1 
Sales at food services and drinking places

Further information can be found in the dashboard "Food Services and Drinking Places Sales." This web application provides access to data on sales in 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.

Sales of the food services and drinking places subsector increase in the third quarter

The figures in this section are based on unadjusted (that is, not seasonally adjusted) estimates.

Unadjusted sales in the food services and drinking places subsector were up 2.5% in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the same quarter of 2018. Sales increased at full-service restaurants (+2.9%), limited service restaurants (+2.4%) and special food services (+2.8%); sales at drinking places fell by 2.6%. Sales increased in nine provinces, with the largest gains in dollar terms being in Ontario (+2.6%), Quebec (+2.8%), British Columbia (+1.9%) and Alberta (+2.4%). Sales declined slightly in Saskatchewan (-0.2%).

Prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 2.7% in the third quarter of 2019 compared with the third quarter of 2018 and prices for alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments were up 1.3% in the same period. Similarly, prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 2.7% in September 2019 compared with September 2018, whereas prices for alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments were up 1.0%.

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).