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September 15, 2026WHOLESALE TRADE, JULY 2026 Monthly (July 2026 vs June 2026, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade decreased by 2.8% from June to July, the second fastest decrease, on par with Québec, among provinces and falling to $1.37 billion. National wholesale trade increased 0.3% to $93.09 billion. Six provinces reported monthly increases in July, with British Columbia reporting the fastest gain and Newfoundland and Labrador reporting the fastest decline.
Year-over-year (July 2026 vs July 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia wholesale trade increased 4.2% in July when compared with the same month last year. Canada's wholesale trade grew 7.9% year-over-year. All provinces reported year-over-year increases in wholesale trade led by Prince Edward Island, with Québec reporting the slowest growth.
Year-to-date (January-July 2026 vs January-July 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia's wholesale trade grew 3.8% in the first seven months of 2026. National wholesale trade was up 5.4% in January-July 2026, with growth in nine provinces. Saskatchewan 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 July 2026, the inventory-to-sales ratio declined to 1.51.
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)