Canadian Mortgage Trends ~ February 20th. 2026
(Bloomberg) — Canadian retail sales are on track to rebound to start the year after barely expanding in the fourth quarter.
Receipts for retailers increased by 1.5% in January, according to an advanced estimate from Statistics Canada.
This follows tepid retail sales growth of 0.1% in the fourth quarter, and a 0.4% decline in December. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting retail sales declined by 0.5% during the last month of 2025.
Despite U.S. tariffs fuelling uncertainty in the Canadian economy, consumers continued to shop in 2025, with retail sales up 4% compared to 1.6% the previous year. Sales were up in eight out of nine subsectors. In volume terms, sales rose by 2.3% following a 0.9% increase in 2024.
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