How large is the Quebec market compared with the rest of Canada, and does it justify a French storefront?
Quebec accounted for 22.2% of Canada's retail sales in 2025, second to Ontario, according to Statistics Canada, and 74.8% of its residents had French as their only mother tongue in the 2021 Census. Updated October 18, 2026.
By Martin DejnickiUpdated
Short answer
Quebec accounted for 22.2% of Canada's retail sales in 2025, C$186.9 billion of C$843.6 billion, second only to Ontario at 37.9%, according to Statistics Canada table 20-10-0056-01. In the 2021 Census, 74.8% of Quebec's population had French as their only mother tongue. The figures show market size and language, not whether a French storefront pays back. Shares are computed by Deploi.
Quebec is Canada's second-largest retail market, with 22.2% of 2025 retail sales
Share of Canada's total retail sales by province, percent, 2025, computed by Deploi from monthly unadjusted values
- Shares are computed by Deploi: each province's 2025 total retail sales, the sum of 12 monthly unadjusted values in Statistics Canada table 20-10-0056-01, over Canada's C$843.6 billion.
- Total retail sales stand in for market size because the table has no provincial ecommerce figures.
- Canada's total also includes the territories, which are not shown, so the provincial shares add up to slightly less than 100%.
- Codes: ON Ontario, QC Quebec, BC British Columbia, AB Alberta, MB Manitoba, SK Saskatchewan, NS Nova Scotia, NB New Brunswick, NL Newfoundland and Labrador, PE Prince Edward Island.
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 20-10-0056-01 Monthly retail trade sales by province and territory, released September 24, 2026; sums and shares computed by Deploi. Read on .
What this means for your decision
- Ranking Quebec against other provinces? Quebec had 22.2% of Canada's 2025 retail sales, C$186.9 billion, second to Ontario at 37.9%, according to Statistics Canada, with sums and shares computed by Deploi. Use it to rank Quebec as a market. It is total retail, in stores and online, so do not read it as Quebec's share of online sales, which the table does not publish.
- Sizing the French-language audience? In the 2021 Census, 74.8% of Quebec's population had French as their only mother tongue, against 19.6% of Canada's; counting people with French and another mother tongue would raise both shares somewhat. Mother tongue is the first language learned, not the language people shop in, so it supports a French storefront case without proving demand for one.
- Funding translation and Quebec compliance first? The data holds no conversion, translation or compliance costs, so do not treat Quebec's 22.2% as the revenue a French storefront would add. Set the store's own Quebec orders and quotes for the work beside these shares before ranking Quebec in the first wave.
- Reaching French speakers outside Quebec? New Brunswick has the highest French mother tongue share outside Quebec, 29.5% in 2021, but only 2.2% of 2025 retail sales; Ontario's share is 3.3%, in a market with 37.9% of retail sales. Weigh market size with share before deciding where French copy matters beyond Quebec.
- Planning a bilingual Shopify build? To scope a French storefront for Quebec, contact Deploi.
How many people in Quebec have French as a mother tongue?
In the 2021 Census, 74.8% of Quebec's population had French as their only mother tongue, against 19.6% of Canada's population, according to Statistics Canada's The Daily of August 17, 2022. New Brunswick was the only other province above 3.3%, at 29.5%. Ontario, the largest provincial market, was 3.3% and British Columbia 1.2%.
Mother tongue is the first language a person learned. The shares count people who gave French as their only mother tongue. People who reported French and another language are not in them, so the share with French among their mother tongues is somewhat higher. It is a measure of the population, not of the language in which people prefer to shop online.
Does retail size show how much Quebec shoppers buy online?
Total retail sales stand in for market size on this page because Statistics Canada table 20-10-0056-01 has no provincial ecommerce figures. Quebec's 22.2% of 2025 retail sales is the share of all retail, in stores and online, and not Quebec's share of online sales. Canada's online share of retail was 7.0% in 2025.
For the national online total, see Canadian retail ecommerce sales. The province split of that total is not published in this table.
Do these numbers justify a French storefront?
The numbers show a large market and a French-speaking majority: Quebec had 22.2% of Canada's retail sales in 2025 and 74.8% with French as their only mother tongue in the 2021 Census, according to Statistics Canada. They do not show Quebec shoppers' language preference online, conversion, or the cost of translation. A French storefront decision needs those inputs from the merchant.
The sources here are Statistics Canada table 20-10-0056-01 for sales and The Daily of August 17, 2022 for mother tongue. Neither covers the cost of translation or Quebec compliance, so this page does not size them.
The data
Each chart on this page is drawn from the numbers below. Units are in the column headers.
| Region | Total retail sales, 2025 (CAD thousand) | Share of Canada (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 319,503,856 | 37.9 |
| Quebec | 186,907,468 | 22.2 |
| British Columbia | 115,393,375 | 13.7 |
| Alberta | 106,889,222 | 12.7 |
| Manitoba | 28,309,808 | 3.4 |
| Saskatchewan | 26,337,273 | 3.1 |
| Nova Scotia | 22,523,593 | 2.7 |
| New Brunswick | 18,704,791 | 2.2 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 12,489,682 | 1.5 |
| Prince Edward Island | 3,637,959 | 0.4 |
Download Retail sales by province, 2025, and French as mother tongue as CSV · All 6 columns on the dataset page
Methodology
Reading the chart: Quebec is Canada's second-largest retail market, with 22.2% of 2025 retail sales
- Shares are computed by Deploi: each province's 2025 total retail sales, the sum of 12 monthly unadjusted values in Statistics Canada table 20-10-0056-01, over Canada's C$843.6 billion.
- Total retail sales stand in for market size because the table has no provincial ecommerce figures.
- Canada's total also includes the territories, which are not shown, so the provincial shares add up to slightly less than 100%.
- Codes: ON Ontario, QC Quebec, BC British Columbia, AB Alberta, MB Manitoba, SK Saskatchewan, NS Nova Scotia, NB New Brunswick, NL Newfoundland and Labrador, PE Prince Edward Island.
Caveats: Retail sales by province, 2025, and French as mother tongue
- Sales are total retail sales, not ecommerce, because the table has no provincial ecommerce figures.
- Annual sales and shares of Canada are computed by Deploi from 12 monthly unadjusted values.
- Canada's total also includes the territories, which are not shown, so the provincial shares add up to slightly less than 100%.
- French mother tongue is the share of the population in the 2021 Census with French as the first language learned. It counts single responses, so people who report French and another language as mother tongues are not in it, and the share with French among their mother tongues is somewhat higher. It is not a measure of shopping language or of who can speak French.
Deploi's charts and compilation are licensed CC BY 4.0. The underlying facts belong to their sources, which are named on every page. How Deploi Shopify Data works.
Sources
Tier A sources are primary documents: filings, official releases and official price pages. How sources are ranked.
- Tier AThe Daily, 2022-08-17, Table 1 Mother tongue, provinces and territories, 2016 and 2021 (2021 Census of Population)
Statistics Canada · HTML · Read on
Cite and reuse
Deploi's charts and compilation are licensed CC BY 4.0. The underlying facts belong to their sources, which are named on every page.
APA
Deploi. (2026). How large is the Quebec market compared with the rest of Canada, and does it justify a French storefront? [Web page]. https://deploi.ca/shopify/data/quebec-market-size Retrieved October 18, 2026.
BibTeX
@misc{deploi_quebec_market_size_2026,
author = {{Deploi}},
title = {How large is the Quebec market compared with the rest of Canada, and does it justify a French storefront?},
year = {2026},
url = {https://deploi.ca/shopify/data/quebec-market-size},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18}
}Embed this chart
Embed code
<iframe src="https://deploi.ca/embed/shopify/data/retail-sales-by-province-2025" title="Quebec is Canada's second-largest retail market, with 22.2% of 2025 retail sales" loading="lazy" style="width:100%;height:570px;border:0"></iframe> <p style="font:12px/1.4 Arial,sans-serif;margin:4px 0 0">Source: <a href="https://deploi.ca/shopify/data/quebec-market-size#chart-retail-sales-by-province-2025">Deploi, Quebec is Canada's second-largest retail market, with 22.2% of 2025 retail sales</a></p>
Keep the credit line under the embed. It is the license condition.
Questions
Is Quebec the second-largest retail market in Canada?
Yes. Quebec had 22.2% of Canada's retail sales in 2025, or C$186.9 billion, second to Ontario at 37.9%, according to Statistics Canada table 20-10-0056-01, released September 24, 2026. Shares are computed by Deploi from 12 monthly unadjusted values.
What share of Quebec's population speaks French?
In the 2021 Census, 74.8% of Quebec's population had French as their only mother tongue, against 19.6% of Canada's population, according to Statistics Canada's The Daily of August 17, 2022. Mother tongue is the first language learned, and people who gave French and another mother tongue are not counted. It is not the share who can speak French, which this dataset does not hold, and not the language people shop in.
How much did Quebec retailers sell in 2025?
Quebec's total retail sales were C$186.9 billion in 2025, 22.2% of Canada's C$843.6 billion, according to Statistics Canada table 20-10-0056-01. Deploi computed the total by adding the 12 monthly unadjusted values, which Statistics Canada publishes in thousands of dollars.
Does the 22.2% share mean Quebec has 22.2% of Canadian online sales?
No. The 22.2% is Quebec's share of all retail sales in 2025, according to Statistics Canada table 20-10-0056-01. The table has no provincial ecommerce figures, so Quebec's share of the C$59.2 billion of Canadian online retail sales is not available here.
Which other provinces have a large French-speaking population?
By share, New Brunswick: 29.5% of its population had French as their only mother tongue in the 2021 Census, according to Statistics Canada's The Daily of August 17, 2022, but it had only 2.2% of Canada's 2025 retail sales. Every other province besides Quebec and New Brunswick was 3.3% or less, including Ontario, which had 37.9% of 2025 retail sales. Mother tongue is not the share who can speak French.
More on Canada
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Courier parcels from the US or Mexico enter Canada free of duty and tax up to C$40, and parcels from other origins up to C$20, according to the Canada Border Services Agency. Updated October 18, 2026.
- How big is Canadian retail ecommerce, and what share of retail sales is online?
Retail ecommerce was 7.0% of Canada's retail sales in 2025, or C$59.2 billion, according to Statistics Canada's monthly retail trade data released September 24, 2026. Updated October 18, 2026.
- How much have courier prices in Canada risen since 2019?
Canada's courier and messenger price index rose from 99.1 in January 2019 to 160.5 in August 2026, a rise of 62.0% computed by Deploi from Statistics Canada data. Updated October 18, 2026.
- Is Shopify growing faster in Canada than Canadian ecommerce is?
Shopify's revenue from Canada grew 46.1% in US dollars from fiscal 2023 to 2025, against 31.4% in Canadian dollars for Canadian retail ecommerce, according to Shopify's Form 10-K and Statistics Canada. Updated October 18, 2026.
- When in the year do Canadians shop online, and how big is the November-December peak?
November and December brought in 21.5% of Canada's retail ecommerce sales in 2025, according to Statistics Canada monthly data released September 24, 2026. Updated October 18, 2026.
- Which markets do Canadian online retailers sell to: Canada only, the US, or further?
In 2023, 19.8% of Canadian retail trade enterprises with online sales sold to the United States, against 97.0% that sold in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. Updated October 18, 2026.
Changes
- · Retail sales by province, 2025, and French as mother tongue
First release on October 18, 2026.