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Information around summertime activities and Beer consumption in Canada
Hello, and thank you for your question about the summertime activities and beer consumption in Canada. The short answer is that beer is the preferred drink of Canada and beer consumption peaks in the summer months. Three summertime holidays in Canada are seen as big drinking holidays: Victoria Day, Canada Day, and the August Civic Holiday. The majority of beer in Canada is consumer in the evening on a weekend at home or in a friend's home. Below you will find a deep dive into my findings.
BEER CONSUMPTION IN CANADA: STATS
Canadians love beer, particularly during the summer. Alcoholic purchases during the summer are 56% beer. The highest beer sales occur in the summer months. Canada also experiences a small boost in beer sales during the winter holidays, but summertime beer sales still beat any other point in the year. Canadians drink 58% of their drinks in their own home and 16% in someone else's home. Canadians are drinking alone 19.6% of the time. When it comes to what time of day Canadians are drinking, 66% drink in the evening between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., while 14% drink later than that, 18% drink in the afternoon, and 2% drink in the morning. When Canadians are drinking, they are "27% relaxing at home, 21% watching the game, 17% having an everyday meal, 12% talking with others, hanging out, 9% at a social occasion, and 7% at a party or warming up to drink more."
During the course of a summertime, Canadians will drink enough beer to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool 356 times. That equals 1.9 billion servings of beer. The Beer Store reports that warm weather can spike their sales by up to 10%.
HOW CANADIANS SPEND THEIR SUMMERS
One of the major things that Canadians love to do in the summer time is eat and relax on patios. This can and does involve drinking beer. Canadians also enjoy time in nature, taking picnics, spending time on water, and camping. Although these can all include beer and other alcohol, many campgrounds and public areas in Canada are dry on Victoria Day (May 24). Since this tends to be a big drinking holiday in Canada, people need to buy their beer ahead of time and avoid activities like camping if they plan to drink. Canadians also enjoy beer festivals, and during the summer and autumn months beer festivals can be found prolifically all over the country.
MAJOR SUMMER DRINKING OCCASIONS IN CANADA
There are three major summer holidays where Canadians traditionally celebrate with alcohol: May 24 (Victoria Day), Canada Day, and the August Civic Holiday.
VICTORIA DAY (MAY 24)
Victoria Day dates back to a time when Canada was under alcohol prohibition. This is partly the reason that today, the government-owned liquor store and the monopolizing Beer Store are closed. The holiday itself is the official celebration of the Queen's birthday, but it's seem more commonly as the unofficial start to summer. The long weekend is one factor that leads to more Canadians drinking during this holiday. In fact, calling the holiday by it's nickname of May 2-4 is another way of equating it to a drinking holiday, since 2-4 is a slang way to say a 24 pack a beer.
CANADA DAY
I was unable to find recent data on how much beer Canadians consume during Canada Day, but what I did find is an interested fact that describes the data: Canada broke a world record this year for fastest Beer Mile Relay on this year's Canada Day. This race consists of four participants who take chug a beer and then run a 400-meter sprint. One participant begins to drink his beer when the team mate in front of him finishes the sprint. Not only did Canada break a world record with a finish time of 4 minutes and 3 seconds, but they actually beat their own record to do so. Further, they hold the record both in men's and women's divisions. Although this does not directly answer the question of how much do Canadians drink during Canada Day, I thought it was good anecdotal evidence that they drink a lot of beer.
AUGUST CIVIC HOLIDAY
The August Civic Holiday in the last major drinking holiday of the summer in Canada. Unlike Victoria Day, some government-owned liquor facilities do stay open, although many close. The most common places that the stores stay open are in areas where there are lots of people on vacation staying in cottages. This suggests that staying in a cottage is an activity that Canadians associate with drinking as well.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, Canadians most often drink beer in the evenings (66%), on a weekend (60.5%), in their home or the home of a friend (74%). Thank you for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help you with any additional research.