Alberta’s struggling economy is having an impact on the province’s retail sector, especially in vehicle sales, reports Statistics Canada.
Sales were off 0.9 per cent to $6.6 billion in November, StatsCan reported Friday — the lowest since early 2017. And it was primarily driven by lower sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
On an annual basis, retail sales in Alberta were down by three per cent.
Nationally, StatsCan said retail sales rose 0.9 per cent to $51.5 billion, largely offsetting the 1.1 per cent decline in October. The increase was primarily attributable to higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and at food and beverage stores, both of which were down in October.
Higher sales were reported in six of 11 subsectors, representing 70 per cent of retail trade.
After removing the effects of price changes, retail sales in volume terms increased 0.7 per cent, added the federal agency.
Avery Shenfeld, economist with CIBC Economics, said Canadian retail sales “zoomed back in the fast lane in November after a big October drop, but putting the two months together, sales were still lower than back in September and volumes have shown virtually no growth since early 2018.”
Mario Toneguzzi is a business reporter in Calgary.
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