Store-Bought Beer Prices in Canada Rose 4.6% in June

Beer bought in stores in Canada grew more expensive in June, rising faster than the country’s overall inflation rate and widening the gap between retail beer prices and broader consumer costs.

Statistics Canada said the consumer price index for beer purchased from stores reached 167.2 points in June, based on 2002=100. That was up 1.5% from May, when the index stood at 164.7, and marked a 4.6% increase from June 2025. Over the same 12-month period, Canada’s general inflation rate was 2.8%, according to the agency’s June consumer price index release published on July 20.

The monthly increase in store-bought beer amounted to 2.5 index points, making retail purchases the main source of beer price movement in June. By contrast, beer served in licensed establishments was unchanged from May at 193.5 points. Even so, prices for beer consumed in bars, restaurants and other licensed venues were still 3.9% higher than a year earlier.

The figures point to a stronger pace of inflation for packaged beer sold through stores than for consumer prices overall. They also show a split within the beer market, with households facing a fresh increase at retail while on-premise prices held steady from the previous month.

The data come from Statistics Canada table 18-10-0004-01 and the agency’s June CPI statement. The indexes are nominal and not seasonally adjusted. They do not represent average dollar prices, sales volumes or consumption levels, but rather changes in consumer prices over time.

For brewers, retailers and consumers, the June reading adds to signs that beer bought for home consumption remains under greater price pressure than many other goods in the Canadian economy. For shoppers, that means the cost of picking up beer at stores has continued to climb at a pace well above headline inflation, even as price changes in licensed establishments were flat on a monthly basis.