By Tom Parkin
Canada's dining divide: Fast food thrives while sit-down restaurants struggle
March 27th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
Statistics Canada data shows a decline in bar sales and a hike in fast-food purchases.
Is it a coincidence that sales in Canadian bars peaked just before the Cannabis Act came into effect on October 18, 2018?
In October 2018, bar receipts totaled $232.4 million, just ahead of $232.3 million in October 2017, Statistics Canada's seasonally adjusted data shows. But since October 2018, bar sales have been in long-term decline, falling 14 per cent to $198.9 in January 2026. That doesn't include the impact and inflation and population growth - clearly the fall in bar receipts in far deeper.
But is a switch from alcohol to cannabis the cause of falling bar sales? Certainly, the timing points in that direction. But to have a firmer view, let's look into that in a future Data Shows.
Yet bar sales didn't shift and stabilize in response to cannabis legalization. They have been in a consistent fall that perhaps was kicked off by legalization, deepened by the social isolation of the pandemic, and pushed deeper by the rising costs of the inflation surge of 2022-2023.
Whatever the factors causing the demise of the bar, falling bar sales means people are spending less time spent at bars. And less time socializing at bars. We're seeing a trend toward more loneliness and more unhappiness among Canadians. Less time at bars may be a cause or symptom of that.
Statistics Canada also released data on Thursday that shows a large gap emerging between sales at full-service restaurants, which have table service, and limited-service restaurants, those that provide counter service.
Restaurants are also a site of socializing. And again the trend isn't good.
In the late 2010s, monthly sales at full-service and limited-service restaurants were consistently very close, with table service restaurants usually slightly ahead of counter-service restaurants.
Then the pandemic dropped a bomb on table service restaurants. Limited service restaurants, which are often also take-out, suffered less and recovered more quickly.
But sales at full-service restaurants did bounce back and by August 2022 once again exceeded sales at limited-service restaurants. In September 2022, restaurants with table service had sales of $3.26 billion while sales at counter-service restaurants were $3.25 billion.
The recovery was short lived.
From September 2022 to January 2026, full-service sales are up 5.7 per cent. In the same period, limited-service sales rose 17.6 per cent. But adjusting for 8.6 per cent CPI inflation from September 2022 to February of 2026, full-service is down 2.6 per cent and limited-service is up 8.1 per cent.
When the 5.9 per cent estimated population increase from October 1, 2022 to January 1, 2026 is factored, inflation-adjusted per person spending on full-service restaurants has fallen 8.2 per cent while spending at limited service restaurants has increased 2.1 per cent.
Of course, in mid-2022 came the inflation wave, driven by food price hikes, which may have pushed people away from the higher cost of full service restaurants.
A small luxury most people used to enjoy at least occasionally - and which brought people together - is eroding. And maybe that too, has something to do with why Canadians aren't feeling so happy anymore.
