Canadians are drinking less alcohol as consumption of cannabis rises, according to a new report released by Statistics Canada that tracked sales in the country from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. Alcohol sales continue to dwarf cannabis sales. However, the trend shows that cannabis consumption continues to grow.
During the time tracked by the statistics, federal and province governments received C$15.7bn (+1.1%) in revenue from alcohol control (C$13.5bn). -0Cannabis for recreational use (C$2.2billion, +12.6%) in the fiscal period ending March 31st 2024.
Biggest booze decline
The report states that “on a volume basis the sales of alcohol decreased by 3.8% in 2023/2024 to 2,988 millions liters. The largest ever volume decrease since Statistics Canada first began recording alcohol sales in 1950. In 2023/2024 the average Canadian of drinking age bought the equivalent of 8,7 standard alcoholic drinks per week, down from 9,2 in the previous fiscal.
Beer, which used to account for 50% of sales in the alcohol market, has now dropped to only one third. As ciders and coolers grew, so did wine and spirits.
Cannabis Growth Slowing
In the report, it was also stated that recreational cannabis sales by provinces and retailers increased 11,6% (or C$500m) from a fiscal year prior. This equated to C$5.2bn for fiscal year. The report noted that the sales of recreational cannabis by provincial authorities and other retail outlets increased 11.6% or C$500 million from one fiscal year earlier, reaching C$5.2 billion during the fiscal year.
Even though the news was good, the report noted that the rate of growth was lower than the 15,8% increase in sales from last year.
In 2023-2024, cannabis sales per adult of legal drinking age were C$163. Quebec’s cannabis sales, however, were negatively affected by its prohibition on vapes and topically applied cannabis products as well as the provincially limited selection of edibles.
It is important to ban vapes, as inhaled cannabis extracts grew the fastest during the period of reporting. They grew by 31.4% from the growth rate of 59% that occurred the prior fiscal year. This was the largest contributor to cannabis sales growth in 2023-2024. It accounted for more than 2/3 (67.5%) of the C$500m increase.
In the report, dried products were defined as pre-rolled and flower. Vape pens and hash were included in the category of extracts that are inhaled. Rosin, wax, and hash also fell into this category. In the Other category, you’ll find topicals and seeds as well as other cannabis products that are not classified anywhere else.