Canadian retail sales to rise 0.4% in June as purchases broaden
By Erik Hertzberg
(Bloomberg) — Canadian retail sales are set to rise in June after months of gasoline-driven gains, while the data point to consumers broadening their purchases beyond fuel.
An advance estimate suggests retail sales increased 0.4% in June following a 1.0% gain in May, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday. If that comes to pass it’d be the sixth consecutive increase.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting a 1% increase May retail sales, following a revised 0.4% gain in April.
Though the advance estimate carries no subsector details, the data to May show elevated gasoline prices as a major driver of the nominal increase in retail sales. That’s due to higher global energy prices from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Still, there’s some evidence of broader consumer resilience, even amid a sharp slowdown in population growth and the ongoing trade disputes with the U.S., which have flattened economic growth. In volume terms, retail sales rose by 0.3% in May, the first gain in three months and suggesting household consumption isn’t rapidly deteriorating.
Nominal retail sales also rose in every subsector in May, with the largest increase at gasoline stations and fuel sectors, which rose 3.1%. Sales of motor vehicle and parts dealers also contributed to the gain, rising 0.7%.
So-called core retail sales, which exclude those sectors, rose 0.9% in May, the first increase in three months and the biggest since January. General merchandise and hobby and sports shops led those gains.
Excluding autos, retail sales rose 1.2% in May, below the 1.3% estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Sales rose in every province but Nova Scotia.
–With assistance from Mario Baker Ramirez.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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Last modified: July 23, 2026
