(Originally written December 7, 2012)
Canadians may be none the richer, but we’ve been 500-million dollars drunker this year, according to a new report by the Bank of Montreal. As per the CBC, “Bank of Montreal said Friday that booze sales rose by $500 million, or more than 3.6 per cent, in the first nine months of the year.” And it doesn’t stop there—BMO predicts that we’re headed for a record year of drunkenness!
“If this healthy growth holds up through the holiday season, that would set the stage for record retail sales of more than $19 billion in 2012,” CMO (LOL @ CBC typo!) Capital Markets economist Aaron Goertzen said. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the report notes that “Quebecers spend the most, with their monthly budget for alcohol increasing 65 per cent in December,” which happens to be around the time the Habs tend to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
Speaking of which, is it any coincidence that this record year for Canadian alcoholic consumption comes in the midst of another NHL lockout? I think not…
Burgers, Bacon & Beer 