Alcohol Sales in Canada Fall to a 20-Year Low

Statistics Canada has confirmed it. Canadians are drinking less, and the numbers reflect it clearly. The decline in alcohol sales in Canada is now the largest annual drop recorded in two decades of tracking. Total sales fell 1.6 per cent to $25.8 billion in the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year. Prices rose 1.6 per cent in the same period. Yet Canadians still bought less. That tells you something.

The drop came entirely from volume. On average, Canadians of legal drinking age bought the equivalent of eight drinks per week between March 2024 and March 2025. That is down from 8.7 drinks the year before and 9.7 drinks a decade ago. The trend has been building quietly for years.

A Generation Choosing to Drink Less

Alcohol consumption in Canada has been falling steadily. Younger Canadians are at the centre of that shift. Rod Phillips, a professor of history at Carleton University in Ottawa, specialises in the history of alcohol. He says the change goes deeper than economics.

“We’re moving to a position where a lot of people are simply not accepting that alcohol is a pre-condition for having a good time,” Phillips told CBC News. “It’s generational, but also broadly social, and certainly international.”

The signs show up in daily life too. Non-alcoholic drink options have surged in popularity. “Soft clubbing” events and morning raves have gained traction among Gen Z. These gatherings centre on connection, not drinking. Zero-proof cocktails and alcohol-free wines are appearing on menus that once would never have considered them.

Phillips adds that younger people are more aware of alcohol’s health risks. These include links to certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. Even the simple experience of a poor night’s sleep or a sluggish morning is enough to change behaviour. “When you go out and drink one night, the next morning you either have a hangover or just don’t feel 100 per cent,” he said.

The Cost of Drinking Is Pushing People Away

Cost is reshaping drinking habits too. Alcohol has become noticeably more expensive. Inflation, climate pressures on vineyards and distilleries, and tariffs on aluminium cans have all pushed prices upward.

The decline in alcohol sales in Canada is not happening in isolation from these financial pressures. Statistics Canada recorded a 1.6 per cent rise in the cost of buying alcohol in stores. Alcohol at licensed restaurants and bars rose 9 per cent in January compared with a year earlier, though the GST/HST holiday influenced that figure.

A November survey by Angus Reid for Restaurants Canada found that 32 per cent of Canadians cut back on alcohol purchases to save money. The hospitality industry is feeling it. Alcohol made up 21.1 per cent of total revenues at full-service restaurants in 2013. By 2023, that share had dropped to 17.1 per cent.

“The overall impact is that people are spending less when they dine out, in part due to not ordering alcohol,” said Chris Elliott, chief economist at Restaurants Canada.

Alcohol Sales in Canada: What the Category Data Shows

The numbers across individual drink categories reinforce the wider picture of Canadians drinking less.

Beer sales fell 1.6 per cent to $9.1 billion. Volume dropped 3.8 per cent. That marked the ninth consecutive annual decline in beer sales by volume. Wine sales fell 2.2 per cent to $7.7 billion, with volume declining for the fourth year running. Spirits fell hardest, dropping 3.2 per cent to $6.7 billion with a 4.4 per cent volume decline.

Ciders and coolers were the only category to grow. Even so, they account for just 9.3 per cent of total alcohol sales.

The closures are mounting. Canada had nearly 9,000 bars and nightclubs in 2000. By 2025, that number stood at 3,721. Craft breweries, after years of rapid growth, are now shutting down in growing numbers.

This is not only a Canadian story. Global wine consumption is at its lowest point since 1961, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. Bloomberg reported last autumn that shares in the world’s top publicly listed alcohol producers lost a combined $830 billion US over the previous four years.

Domestic Producers Gain as Canadians Drink Local

Not all producers are struggling. Domestic alcohol sales edged up to represent 60.6 per cent of total sales in Canada, compared with 59 per cent the prior year. That share grew across every drink category.

The shift is most notable in wine. Imported wine sales dropped 3.9 per cent. Domestic wine sales rose 1.9 per cent. Statistics Canada noted this was the first time imported wine sales had declined since tracking began by origin in 1992 to 1993.

Trade tensions played a part. In February 2025, most provinces pulled American wine and spirits from shelves in response to a 25 per cent US tariff on Canadian goods. Alcohol imports from the United States fell 5.4 per cent compared with the previous fiscal year.

Ontario craft wineries benefited directly. Michelle Wasylyshen, president and CEO of Ontario Craft Wineries, told CBC News that Ontario grape wine sales surged once American labels were removed from LCBO shelves. “It’s been huge,” she said.

As Canadians drink less overall, those who do choose to drink appear increasingly likely to buy Canadian. The shelves that once held imported bottles are telling their own story.

Source: cbc