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October 15, 2026WHOLESALE TRADE, AUGUST 2026 Monthly (August 2026 vs July 2026, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade increased by 0.6% from July to August and rising to $1.40 billion. National wholesale trade decreased 1.6% to $91.58 billion. Six provinces reported monthly decreases in August, with Saskatchewan reporting the fastest decline and Prince Edward Island reporting the fastest increase.
Year-over-year (August 2026 vs August 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade increased 15.6% in August when compared with the same month last year, second fastest increase among provinces. Canada's wholesale trade grew 7.2% year-over-year. All provinces reported year-over-year increases, except Saskatchewan, in wholesale trade led by Prince Edward Island.
Year-to-date (January-August 2026 vs January-August 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia's wholesale trade grew 5.5% in the first eight months of 2026. National wholesale trade was up 5.6% in January-August 2026, with growth in nine provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the strongest growth while New Brunswick reported the only decline year-to-date.
Food and beverage wholesale represents the largest share of Nova Scotia's reported wholesale trade categories, followed by building materials.
Miscellaneous wholesalers and machinery and equipment saw the fastest year-to-date percentage gains in wholesale trade, while building materials wholesale merchant sales were down.
Trends
Through much of 2025 and into 2026, Nova Scotia's wholesale trade growth has outpaced the national average.
National wholesale inventories as a share of sales increased in 2025 but have been on a downward trend in 2026. In August 2026, the inventory-to-sales ratio rebounded to 1.54.
Note: wholesale trade data excludes petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons as well as oilseed and grain.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 20-10-0074-01 Wholesale trade, sales (x 1,000); Table 20-10-0076-01 Wholesale trade, inventories (x 1,000)
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