Natalie Stechyson · CBC News · Posted: Mar 07, 2026 2:00 AM MST
An employee moves products in an LCBO store at Union Station in Toronto in March 2025. A new report by Statistics Canada found that Canadians are buying less alcohol, leading to the largest annual drop in beer, wine and spirits sales in the 20 years Statistics Canada has been tracking the data. (Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press)
The numbers are as sobering as a zero-proof margarita.
Canadians are buying less alcohol, leading to the largest annual drop in beer, wine and spirits sales in the 20 years Statistics Canada has tracked the data, according to the agency’s latest report.
Sales of alcoholic beverages fell 1.6 per cent to $25.8 billion in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, despite a 1.6 per cent increase in prices during that same period. That’s because sales by volume dropped for the fourth year in a row as Canadians of legal drinking age purchased fewer drinks per week.
Alcohol culture is shifting globally, with younger generations leading the change to a more sober lifestyle, explained Rod Phillips, professor of history at Carleton University in Ottawa who specializes in the history of alcohol.
“We’re moving to, I’m not going to say a post-alcohol society, but a position where a lot of people are simply not accepting that alcohol is a pre-condition for having a good time with your friends or enjoying a meal,” Phillips told CBC News.
“It’s generational, but also broadly social, and certainly international.”
On average, Canadians bought the equivalent of eight drinks per week between March 2024 and March 2025, down from 8.7 a year earlier and 9.7 a decade ago, according to Statistics Canada.
Beer, wine, and spirits sales all fell in both dollar amount and volume. Ciders and coolers were the only category to grow in that time period, the agency noted, though they remain the smallest share of the market at 9.3 per cent of total alcohol sales.
Culture shift and cost
Recent studies, reports and polls have all shown that younger generations are drinking less than older adults.
You can see the shift in the data — and in daily life — through the surge in non-alcoholic drink options and the rise of “soft clubbing” and morning raves among Gen Z, gatherings that emphasize connection over substances.
Phillips said younger people are also more receptive to warnings about the health consequences of alcohol, including links to cancer and heart disease, as well as overall well-being.
“That 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.