Retail sales in B.C. rose 1.3% to $4,959,000 in April for a third consecutive monthly gain, according to numbers released this morning by Statistics Canada.
Nationally, retail sales grew by 0.3% in April, driven by a 1.7% increase of sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and a 1.1% increase in sales at new car dealers. Excluding increases in sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers in April, Canada’s retail sales were flat.
Across Canada, sales of building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers registered the largest decline in April, falling 2.8%. Statistics Canada notes that higher-than-normal precipitation was recorded across the country in April.
B.C.’s April retail sales growth was third-fastest in the country after Yukon’s (2.7%) and Alberta’s (1.6%). Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Nova Scotia also showed retail growth. P.E.I. lost the most ground with retail sales dropping 3.3%, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (-2.4%) and New Brunswick (-1.9%).
Year-over-year, B.C.’s retail sales grew by 3.2%, trailing the national growth of 3.6%. Yukon and Nunavut showed the strongest year-over-year growth at 21.2% and 9.1%, respectively, followed by Alberta (7.4%) and Saskatchewan (7.0%). Slowest growth occurred in Nova Scotia (1.5%) and P.E.I. (1.6%).
Jenny Wagler
Twitter: JennyWagler_BIV