Strong retail sales in Vancouver helped B.C. lead Canada with 7.1 per cent retail sales growth in May, according to data Statistics Canada released Thursday morning.
This far exceeded the province's 2.9 per cent inflation rate in May, indicating that the volume of goods sold in B.C. also increased substantially year-over-year in May.
Vancouver's retail sales jumped nine per cent to $4.891 billion in May, up from $4.486 billion in the same month in 2024. That by far bettered Toronto's 2.4 per cent retail sales growth in May and the 4.4 per cent retail sales growth that Montreal enjoyed that month.
One reason for the jump in Vancouver retail sales could be a jump in visitors thanks in part to the city hosting Web Summit May 27 through 30. That convention was expected to attract more than 15,000 people to Vancouver, including international entrepreneurs, investors, media, academics and executives. Greater Vancouver Board of Trade CEO Bridgitte Anderson told BIV in May that the spectacle would be the "Olympics for the tech sector."
Canada-wide, the country saw a 4.9 per cent jump in retail sales in May, to $69.19 billion, compared with May 2024, when shoppers shelled out $65.963 billion across the country.
B.C.'s $9.564 billion in retail sales was slightly more than 13.82 per cent of the country's total. That is slightly more than the province's estimated 13.77 per cent slice of the national population, according to Statistics Canada data for the second quarter of this year.
While all provinces saw higher retail sales in May than in May 2024, that was not the case when comparing May with April. Only Nova Scotia saw stronger retail sales in May than April, and that increase was only by 0.3 per cent.
B.C.'s May retail sales were down about 0.4 per cent from April, with Vancouver helping that downswing with a 1.1 per cent decline in May, compared with April.
Canada as a whole saw a 1.1 per cent decline in retail sales in May, compared with April.
April was a month where there was significant stock market volatility, with U.S. President Donald Trump proposing for part of the month to levy substantial tariffs on much of the world's imports. He then paused the start date for those tariffs and had his officials start to negotiate dozens of trade agreements. Uncertainty about what U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods would materialize reigned, as did a lack of clarity on whether the Canadian government would levy retaliatory tariffs.
This might have prompted some consumers to make larger purchases in April to ensure that they would get the goods before potential future tariffs kicked in.
