Inside Capital K Distillery, manager Martin Pacak finishes mashing 360 kilograms of cherries destined for one of their spirits. He’s got to keep up with demand, as domestic sales across the province continue to remain strong. “It isn’t just necessarily about tariffs and patriotism,” Pacak said. “People are actually going hyper local. They’re choosing products that take a little bit longer to make, that have a little bit more skill, a little bit more craft, a little bit more effort.” Pacak believes alcohol sales in Manitoba aren’t following the national decline suggested by a new report from Statistics Canada. The federal data shows national sales of alcohol declined by three per cent between 2024 to 2025. Furthermore, the decline in government earnings from alcohol was the largest annual decrease since Statistics Canada began tracking this data in 2004. In Manitoba however - the same report finds provincial net income of liquor authorities is up 1.7 per cent from the previous year, while total value of sales is up 1.5 per cent. Pacak believes changing consumer habits are fueling the uptick. “What consumers are choosing is they’re choosing quality over quantity,” Pacak said. “The people that are suffering the most are your multinational corporations that are churning out the same product year after year.” Pacak noted the report doesn’t address what types of alcohol are in decline. Over at Devil May Care Brewing, co-owner Colin Koop said their craft beer sales are down from last year. “People drinking less beer in general I believe, and other sectors like ready to drink beverages, coolers, and things like that, are having a little bit of a surge,” Koop said. Koop believes the cost of living is hurting their margins. “Luxuries, like alcohol, tend to be the first things that get cut right,” he said. It’s a different story over at the Lockport Grocery and General Store, a business Kris Faires’ family has run since 1982. Faires said liquor sales have been consistent at their business year-over-year. “It’s been pretty steady here and potentially increasing on certain categories, which is a little like different from the norm,” Faires said. “My store, in general, we try to offer a little bit more different products than maybe what you see at a Liquor Mart.” In a statement to CTV News, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries executive vice president Robert Holmberg said the federal government statistics are not a surprise to the corporation. “Alcohol sales are not immune to the current economic pressures being faced by many businesses and many Manitobans are choosing to reduce their consumption in pursuit of improved physical and mental health well-being,” Holmberg said in a statement on Thursday. “Moderation practices combined with the increase in availability of both low and or no alcohol products has definitely shifted overall volumes. Still at the same time that some consumers are drinking less, some of them are seeking out higher quality, more premium products.”
