It’s no secret that Canadians love to sink a few wobbly pops from time to time.
Some more than others. More specifically, some in particular provinces more than those who live in other provinces.
Statistics Canada recently published data about Canadians’ drinking habits, which revealed that, yes, we consume a lot of alcohol (3,074 million litres last year). Most interesting is which provinces drink the most.
The Northwest Territories had the highest average sale per person, at $1,604. This is followed by the territory’s neighbour to the West, Yukon, where residents spend $1,261 per person per year on booze.
We then swing to the East Coast, where Newfoundlanders spend $1,056 annually on booze. B.C. posts a respectable fourth-place finish with $864 spent on booze; Nova Scotia rounds out the top five at $789. Alberta, at $768, is the only other province above the national average ($755).
Nunavut, meanwhile, spends by far the least on alcohol, at just $231 per person annually. A full breakdown below:
So, what are we drinking, exactly?
“The Canadian love affair with hops and barley continues, but more and more drinkers are opting for the grape,” reads the report. “Beer remained the alcoholic drink of choice for Canadians, with $9.1 billion in sales and accounting for 40.6% of total sales of alcoholic beverages.”
Now, about that wine…
Liquor stores, agencies and other retail outlets sold $7.2 billion worth of wine during the year ending March 31, 2017, up 3.1% from the previous year to 32.0% of total alcohol sales,” reads the report. Again, it’s not an even spread. “Wine sales had the greatest market share in Quebec at 43.7% of total sales of alcoholic beverages.”
And the rest:
“At the national level, whisky (31.3%), vodka (24.8%) and rum (17.1%) were the most popular spirits sold in Canada in 2016/2017.”
Cheers!