The value of retail sales in Newfoundland and Labrador totalled $1.1 billion in December 2025, a decrease of 1.4% compared to December 2024.
The largest declines in the actual value of retail sales occurred in ‘Gasoline stations and fuel vendors’ (-24.5%) and ‘Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers’ (-19.6%). The decline for ‘Gasoline stations and fuel vendors’ was largely due to lower prices for gasoline in December 2025 compared to December 2024, stemming from the removal of the federal consumer carbon tax on April 1, 2025, and due to a lower price of Brent crude oil in December compared to the same month last year. The largest gains in the actual value of retail sales occurred in ‘Motor vehicle and parts dealers’ (+9.2%), ‘Food and beverage retailers’ (+3.0%) and ‘Health and personal care retailers’ (+5.3%).
On an annual basis, retail sales in Newfoundland and Labrador were 3.7% higher in 2025 compared to 2024. The largest gains in the actual value of retail sales in 2025 occurred in ‘Motor vehicle and parts dealers’ (+8.4%) and ‘Health and personal care retailers” (+28.6%), while the largest decline occurred in in ‘Gasoline stations and fuel vendors’ (-12.9%).
At the national level, retail sales increased by 2.2% in December 2025 compared to December 2024 and increased by 4.0% on an annual basis. In December 2025, retail sales increased in every province on a year-over-year basis except for Newfoundland and Labrador, ranging from 0.4% in Ontario to 6.7% in New Brunswick.
Statistics Canada’s Daily discusses retail sales on a seasonally adjusted basis. Seasonally adjusted retail sales for Newfoundland and Labrador decreased by 3.3% in December 2025 compared to November 2025 and decreased by 0.4% for Canada.
| Retail Sales by Subsector ($ Millions) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | ||||
| Dec 2024 | Dec 2025 | Actual Change | Percent Change | |
|
Motor vehicle and parts dealers1
|
231.4 | 252.7 | 21.3 | 9.2% |
| Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers | 58.8 | 47.2 | -11.5 | -19.6% |
| Food and beverage retailers | 207.8 | 214.0 | 6.2 | 3.0% |
| Furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retailers | 35.5 | 36.7 | 1.2 | 3.5% |
| General merchandise retailers | 217.3 | 218.9 | 1.6 | 0.7% |
| Health and personal care retailers | 104.4 | 109.9 | 5.5 | 5.3% |
| Gasoline stations and fuel vendors | 155.5 | 117.3 | -38.2 | -24.5% |
| Clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers | 54.9 | 53.2 | -1.7 | -3.1% |
| Sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers | 52.1 | 52.4 | 0.3 | 0.5% |
|
Total Retail Trade Sales
|
1,117.6 | 1,102.3 | -15.4 | -1.4% |
| Note: The total and change may not sum due to independent rounding.
1 The motor vehicle figure displayed here includes some used car sales, as well as parts and service labour, and may be higher than those appearing in the New Motor Vehicle Sales Bulletin. Source: Statistics Canada. Table 20-10-0056-01. |
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Statistical Reference: For the latest in retail trade statistics visit the Newfoundland & Labrador Statistics Agency site and check the release dates on Statistics Canada site.