I am Canadian, but this Bud’s for you
Suds are still king but they’re not always domestic StatsCan reports on our national drinking habits
Out east, the spirit of choice is rum. In Ontario, it’s whisky. And in Quebec, they enjoy their red wine. But overall, we’re still a nation of “ hosers” who love our beer. So much so that beer sales have finally topped the $8 billion- ayear mark, according to a Statistics Canada report yesterday that speaks volumes about us. Among the findings:
Booze sales are highest in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, where consumption per person is about 40 to 60 per cent higher than the rest of the country. Brewers of Canada, the industry association, says the high number of tourists and temporary workers in those regions skews those figures.
By province, the heaviest drinkers are in Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Beer sales in both provinces are also higher on average.
Newfoundlanders are also the biggest spirit buyers, with rum as their spirit of choice, while Quebecers buy more wine, especially red wine, than the other provinces.
Ontario residents are moderate drinkers, consuming slightly less booze than average per person — except for sales of spirits, which is slightly higher, led by whisky. The Statistics Canada report reinforced the notion that, for Canadians, beer is best. No surprise for a country famous for the Bob and Doug McKenzie characters, a pair of beer- swilling, hockey watching, barely literate “ hosers.” That $8 billion mark represents $ 316.20 worth of beer a year per man, woman and teen 15 and older, according to the agency, or about nine cases of 24 beer at current prices for mainstream Canadian brands. But the fictional McKenzie TV duo created by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas would no doubt be distressed to learn that sales of imported beer are growing faster than domestic brands and wine is growing faster than beer.
Overall, booze sales in Canada grew 4.9 per cent to $ 16.1 billion for the fiscal year ended March 2004, Statistics Canada said.
Beer remains Canada’s drink of choice, accounting for 8 out of every 10 litres of booze sold and half of all dollars spent on alcohol, the report also showed. But wine and spirits are both gaining ground faster.
Admittedly, the figures are about 18 months out of date. As a result, they don’t reflect the impact of last winter’s National Hockey League lockout
on beer sales or the labour
dispute at Quebec’s liquorselling agency,
which crimped wine and
spirit sales.
The news for Canada’s
booze industry isn’t encouraging as sales of imports rose faster than domestic brands in almost every category.
Overall, beer sales grew 4 per cent to $8 billion, but imports grew 13.5 per cent to $ 1.1 billion while domestic brands grew just 2.7 per cent to $ 7.1 billion. Most of the imports come from the United States ( Budweiser), the Netherlands (Heineken) and Mexico ( Corona).
Sales of wine grew at more than twice the rate of either beer or spirits, rising 7.4 per cent to nearly $4 billion. Red wine was the strongest seller. But imported wines, which have long dominated the market, grew 9.6 per cent to $ 2.8 billion while domestic brands gained just 1.7 per cent to $ 1.1 billion. Italy, France and the United States were the biggest importers.
Spirit sales rose 4.3 per cent to $4 billion. But again imports grew faster, gaining 6.5 per cent to $ 1.4 billion, while domestic brands rose just 3.1 per cent to $ 2.6 billion.