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OTTAWA — Alberta households spent more on current consumption than households in any other province in 2023, according to revised Statistics Canada data.
Average current-consumption spending in Alberta reached $85,585 per household, about $9,400 higher than the national average of $76,146.
British Columbia followed at $82,715, while Ontario averaged $81,593. Saskatchewan households spent an average of $70,384 and Manitoba households $69,223.
Nationally, average current-consumption spending rose 13.4 per cent from $67,126 in 2021 to $76,146 in 2023.
Shelter remained the largest component of household consumption across Canada, averaging $24,501 in 2023, up from $21,106 two years earlier.
Food expenditures rose to $11,933 from $10,305, while transportation increased to $12,019 from $10,099.
Spending on rented living quarters climbed to $5,247 from $4,145, while spending on owned living quarters increased to $14,072 from $12,700.
Restaurant spending also rebounded sharply, reaching $3,316 per household compared with $2,189 in 2021. Public transportation spending rose to $1,768 from $598 over the same period.
The longer-term trend shows household consumption spending generally moving higher over the past decade.
Average current consumption across Canada was $68,980 in 2019 before falling to $67,126 in 2021, during the period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It then climbed to $76,146 in 2023.
Statistics Canada’s historical series shows average household consumption was in the mid-$50,000 range in 2010 and rose gradually through much of the following decade before accelerating in the years leading into 2023.
Average total household expenditure, which includes items beyond current consumption such as income taxes and pension contributions, reached $105,367 nationally in 2023, compared with $92,500 in 2021.
Statistics Canada recently revised its 2023 Survey of Household Spending estimates using weights calibrated to demographic projections based on the 2021 Census. Previously published estimates had relied on weights based on the 2016 Census.
The agency also cautions that some expenditure categories are not directly comparable over time because of questionnaire and collection changes introduced in 2019.
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