Canada’s new light vehicle market opened 2026 on softer footing, with January sales declining in nine provinces compared with a year earlier, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
According to estimates discussed by Andrew King, managing partner at DAC, national sales reached 114,000 units in January 2026, down 2.9 per cent from 118,000 units in January 2025.
“As we discussed two weeks ago, January is generally a small and volatile month that rarely acts as a reliable indicator of the year to come,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC, in a statement.
Provincial results varied widely. British Columbia posted a modest gain of 0.3 per cent, the only province to edge higher. At the other end of the spectrum, Newfoundland recorded a 15.1 per cent drop, while Nova Scotia fell 11.7 per cent. Both Atlantic provinces were coming off strong performances in January 2025, making for difficult year-over-year comparisons.
Among the higher-volume markets, Ontario and Quebec performed slightly better than the national average but still saw declines. Ontario was down 2.5 per cent and Quebec slipped 2.2 per cent. In raw numbers, Ontario’s decline was the largest, though the drop amounted to just over 1,100 units.
According to King, January 2026 in particular “struggled to keep up with a very strong comparable, leading to sales declines across nine provinces.”
