Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, other hydrocarbons, and oilseed and grain, fell 1.6% to $91.6 billion in August 2026. The agency said sales decreased in five of the sector's seven subsectors, together accounting for 70.6% of total wholesale sales.
The largest decline came from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector, which fell 3.8% to $15.1 billion. The agricultural supplies industry group posted the next-largest decrease, down 12.4% to $3.5 billion. The overall decline was moderated by the building material and supplies subsector, which rose 1.4% to $14.1 billion.
Statistics Canada said wholesale sales were 7.2% higher in August than in the same month a year earlier. In volume terms — which adjust for price changes — wholesale sales, under the same exclusions, fell 1.8% in August.
Wholesale inventories, excluding the same petroleum and grain-related categories, were unchanged in August at $141.0 billion. The inventory-to-sales ratio rose from 1.51 in July to 1.54 in August, a measure of how many months it would take to clear existing inventory at the current sales pace.
Ontario posted the largest provincial decline, down 1.6% to $47.8 billion, following six months of consecutive increases, and Saskatchewan posted the second-largest decrease, down 8.2% to $3.8 billion. Statistics Canada also reported gains in several smaller jurisdictions: Prince Edward Island rose 5.1% to $125.1 million, Nova Scotia rose 0.6% to $1,400.1 million, and Alberta rose 0.7% to $10,378.9 million, while Nunavut rose 43.4% to $13.9 million.
Statistics Canada said this release's content was produced with the assistance of a generative artificial intelligence tool and refined and verified by the agency's own experts.