Are you patients hopping on the wagon? Canadian beer, wine sales see unusually large drop

Canadians bought less alcohol this year, according to new research from Statistics Canada. Overall, sales of alcohol (by volume) declined by 1.2% between March 2021 to March 2022 and the year before. That brings the total consumed in the nation down to 3,141 million litres, or 9.5 standard drinks per person over the age of 19, per week. It was the most significant decline in more than a decade. Wine sales decreased by 4%, or equal to 516 million litres, or 2.4 glasses per person of legal drinking age, per week. That’s the largest drop in the volume of wine sold since Statistics Canada began tracking alcohol sales in 1949. Beer sales declined by 2.8% to 2,061 million litres—an all-time low. That’s a reduction of 3.7 standard bottles of beer per week per person of legal drinking age. Read: Low risk alcohol guidance sparks debate as drinkers start examining habits, evidence Canadians did buy more ciders and coolers: They were up 11.9% from the previous fiscal year, to 370 million litres. Beer was the most popular drink in Canada, making up 34.9% of total alcohol volume, followed by wine (31.3%), spirits 25.8%, and then ciders and coolers (8%). Sales numbers by volume weren’t available for spirits. Read: Provincial governments not jumping to act on tighter alcohol warning guidelines For the first time, Statistics Canada also tracked the sale of cannabis. It was worth $4 billion in 2021-2022—the equivalent of $131 per Canadian of legal age. The study points out that the statistics on sales of alcohol shouldn’t be considered data on consumption patterns. They have limitations, such as not including the amount made with U-brews or cannabis sold on the black market. And despite the decreases in the volume of alcohol sold, there was an overall increase in the value of alcohol sales, thanks to inflation and increased prices. Canadian liquor authorities and retail outlets sold $26.1 billion of alcoholic beverages in the year, which is an increase of 2.4% from a year earlier. Read: Canadians should get info on how much alcohol is in a standard drink: minister

Are you patients hopping on the wagon? Canadian beer, wine sales see unusually large drop

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