# Canada retail sales fall 0.7% in July

> First monthly decline since December 2025; volumes −1.1% as general merchandise, autos and gas retreat — Toronto CMA −4.7%.

- Desk: TIC Staff
- Published: 2026-09-24
- Section: Markets
- Canonical: https://trueinflation.ca/article/canada-retail-sales-drop-july-2026

Canadian shoppers finally blinked. Retail sales fell 0.7% in July to $73.7 billion — the first monthly drop since December 2025 — as eight of nine subsectors retreated, Statistics Canada said.

Core retail (ex autos and gas) also slipped 0.7%. General merchandise led the decline at -1.9% after a 2.5% June bounce, with clothing and accessories down 1.2%. Motor vehicle and parts dealers fell 0.8% (new-car dealers -1.3%), and gasoline stations dropped 0.9% — volumes there plunged 3.5%. Building material and garden dealers were the lone bright spot, up 0.8% for a fourth straight month.

In real terms, total retail volumes declined 1.1%. Ontario led the provincial pullback (-2.0%), with Toronto CMA sales down a sharp 4.7%; British Columbia fell 1.4%. Alberta rose 1.4%. Seasonally adjusted e-commerce sales sank 3.5% to $5.5 billion, or 7.5% of total retail.

StatCan’s advance read points to a 1.3% rebound in August — early and revisable. For the inflation story, a broad nominal and volume soft patch after a strong first half fits households still stretched on shelter and food even as headline CPI cools: spending power is rationed, not restored.

Source: Statistics Canada The Daily­