What is in the Canada retail sales report
The Monthly Retail Trade Survey collects sales from a sample of retailers across Canada, by industry and by province. The headline is total retail sales on the month, seasonally adjusted and in current dollars.
Because the headline is in dollars, it rises when prices rise. Statistics Canada also gives sales in volume terms, with the price effect taken out.
Core retail sales leave out gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, the two parts that swing most with fuel prices and car sales. The report also splits sales into nine subsectors and gives the share sold online.
Each release carries an advance estimate for the month after, built from the survey responses received so far. Statistics Canada says it will be revised.
Why Canada retail sales move the Canadian dollar
Household spending is a large part of the economy, and it shows whether consumers are holding up under the rates the Bank of Canada sets. Firm sales make a higher rate, or fewer cuts, more likely; weak sales point the other way.
The report comes late, about seven weeks after the month. That is why the advance estimate for the more recent month often gets as much attention as the main figure.
Oil shows up here too. When gasoline prices jump, sales at gasoline stations rise in dollars without anyone buying more fuel, which is why core retail and volumes are the better guide.
How to read Canada retail sales against the forecast
Start with the headline against the forecast, then look at core retail. A headline lifted by fuel or car sales says less than a rise in core retail.
Then check volumes. Sales up in dollars but down in volume mean people paid more and took home less.
Read the advance estimate with care. It rests on part of the survey, so the full figure a month later can differ.
What the Canadian dollar did on the last release days
Our calendar keeps the exact time of each release since 16 September 2026. The first Canada retail sales after that date will show here with the Canadian dollar's move around it.
For scale: on an ordinary day the Canadian dollar moves 0.16% against the basket from one London opening to the next, either way, on average over the 250 trading days since 14 Oct 2025.
The forecast, the figure itself and what it changed in our view of the currency are in the app, next to the research.