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August 21, 2026RETAIL TRADE, JUNE 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, June 2026 vs May 2026)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 0.9% to $1.98 billion in June 2026. Nationally, retail trade rose 0.6% to $74.28 billion, with increases in seven provinces led by Ontario. Alberta reported the fastest decline.
Year over year (June 2026 vs June 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 8.0% in June compared to the same month last year, the second-fastest increase among provinces. Nationally, retail trade increased 5.2% year-over-year. All provinces reported increasing retail trade year-over-year, led by Prince Edward Island.
Year to date (January-June 2026 vs January-June 2025)
Nova Scotia retail trade increased 5.0% in January-June 2026 compared to the same period the previous year. National retail trade increased 4.0% year-to-date with increases in all provinces, led by Alberta and Prince Edward Island.
In dollar terms, motor vehicles/parts ($3.152 billion), food/beverage ($1.989 billion), gas stations ($1.849 billion) and general merchandise ($1.532 billion) contributed the most to Nova Scotia's retail sales in January-June 2026.
The largest increases in percentage terms were reported in gas stations, followed by motor vehicles/parts and general merchandise. Furniture reported the largest year-to-date decline in retail sales.
Trends
In recent months Nova Scotia retail sales have been more volatile than the Canadian average (common for a smaller province), but have outpaced national retail sales.
E-Commerce
In June 2026, Canada's e-commerce sales increased 9.9% from the previous month, to $5.73 billion or 7.7% of total retail sales.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table: 20-10-0056-01, Monthly retail trade sales by province and territory (x 1,000)