Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
Revenue in the Apparel market in Canada is projected to reach US$18.67bn in 2024
The Apparel market in Canada is expected to grow annually by 2.61% (CAGR 2024-2027)
The largest segment in the industry is Women's Apparel with a market volume of US$9.85bn in 2024
As of 2022 there were approximately 1729 establishments in the clothing manufacturing industry in Canada
The fashion industry is the third largest employer in Canada among manufacturing sectors
Quebec accounts for approximately 46% of all apparel manufacturing jobs in Canada
In 2024, online sales are expected to account for 38.6% of the total revenue in the Apparel market
Fashion is the largest e-commerce category in Canada, accounting for over $8.5 billion in sales
48% of Canadian shoppers buy clothing or accessories online at least once a month
The Canadian secondhand apparel market is expected to grow to US$3.8 billion by 2026
82% of Canadians have donated clothing in the past year to extend its lifecycle
The secondhand economy in Canada for clothing and accessories is growing 6 times faster than the broader retail economy
Canada imports approximately $12 billion CAD worth of clothing annually
The United States is the top export destination for Canadian apparel receiving over 75% of exports
China is the largest source of apparel imports to Canada accounting for approximately 36% of the total
E-commerce & Consumer Behavior
- In 2024, online sales are expected to account for 38.6% of the total revenue in the Apparel market
- Fashion is the largest e-commerce category in Canada, accounting for over $8.5 billion in sales
- 48% of Canadian shoppers buy clothing or accessories online at least once a month
- Mobile devices account for nearly 45% of all fashion e-commerce transactions in Canada
- The user penetration for Apparel e-commerce in Canada will be 60.4% in 2024
- Average revenue per user (ARPU) in the Canadian online fashion market is projected to be US$774 in 2024
- 27% of Canadian fashion consumers prefer to buy from retailers that offer free return shipping
- Click-and-collect adoption for fashion items grew by 15% among Canadian consumers in 2022
- Online revenue share in the Luxury Fashion market is 12.5% in 2024
- 31% of Canadians engaged in cross-border e-commerce for fashion items primarily from the USA
- Amazon represents the leading online store for fashion sales in Canada by net sales
- 63% of Canadian millennials have purchased apparel through a social media platform link
- The return rate for online apparel purchases in Canada is approximately 18%
- 86% of Canadian online shoppers expect to see shipping costs upfront before checkout for clothing
- Cyber Week accounts for nearly 20% of annual online fashion revenue in Canada
- E-commerce market volume for Footwear in Canada is projected to reach US$2.53bn by 2024
- There are over 19 million eCommerce users in the fashion segment in Canada
- Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) usage for fashion purchases in Canada increased by 55% between 2020 and 2022
- Hudson's Bay is among the top 5 domestic fashion e-commerce sites in Canada
- 58% of Canadian online fashion shoppers are female
Interpretation
Think of Canada's fashion market as a fast-moving digital wardrobe: e-commerce now captures 38.6% of apparel revenue and over $8.5 billion in sales, reaches 60.4% of shoppers and about 19 million users, with mobile driving nearly 45% of transactions and social links, BNPL and Amazon accelerating purchases while cross-border buying from the U.S. remains strong; consumers demand upfront shipping costs and generous returns even as click-and-collect and Cyber Week create big spikes, ARPU sits near US$774, luxury lags online at 12.5%, and the shopper base skews 58% female.
Economic Contribution & Market Size
- Revenue in the Apparel market in Canada is projected to reach US$18.67bn in 2024
- The Apparel market in Canada is expected to grow annually by 2.61% (CAGR 2024-2027)
- The largest segment in the industry is Women's Apparel with a market volume of US$9.85bn in 2024
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores in Canada was approximately 4.3 billion CAD in 2022
- The Luxury Fashion market in Canada is projected to generate a revenue of US$2.51bn in 2024
- In relation to total population figures per person revenues of US$476.60 are generated in 2024
- Volume in the Apparel market is expected to amount to 972.2m pieces by 2028
- The Canadian apparel industry accounts for approximately 9% of the country’s total retail trade
- Canadian menswear market revenue is expected to reach US$5.12bn in 2024
- The Children's Apparel segment in Canada is projected to reach US$2.78bn in 2024
- The annual growth rate of the Luxury Fashion market in Canada is projected at 3.12% between 2024 and 2028
- The Sportswear market in Canada was valued at approximately 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2022
- The average price per unit in the Apparel market is expected to meet US$18.42 in 2024
- Retail sales of clothing and clothing accessories stores in Canada reached over 32 billion Canadian dollars in 2022
- The Footwear market in Canada is projected to generate revenue of US$7.2bn in 2024
- Canada’s fashion market ranks among the top 15 largest apparel markets globally
- The Accessories market in Canada is projected to reach US$4.1bn in revenue in 2024
- The Jewellery segment revenue in Canada is projected to be US$3.8bn for 2024
- Operating revenue for clothing manufacturing in Canada increased by 4% to reached 4.6 billion CAD in recent reporting years
- The Clothing Rental market in Canada is projected to reach US$58.5m in 2024
Interpretation
Canada's fashion industry is no fleeting trend but a substantial market, projected to pull in about US$18.67 billion in apparel revenue in 2024—roughly US$476.60 per person—anchored by a US$9.85 billion women's segment with strong contributions from footwear, accessories, menswear, children's and luxury lines, steady growth and rising manufacturing and retail output that keep it among the world's top 15 markets even as niche areas like clothing rental remain tiny but promising.
Employment & Labor
- As of 2022 there were approximately 1729 establishments in the clothing manufacturing industry in Canada
- The fashion industry is the third largest employer in Canada among manufacturing sectors
- Quebec accounts for approximately 46% of all apparel manufacturing jobs in Canada
- Ontario represents approximately 39% of the Canadian apparel manufacturing workforce
- Approximately 75520 people were employed in clothing and clothing accessories stores in Canada in 2022
- The average hourly wage in the Canadian textile product mills sector was $22.50 CAD in 2022
- 93.9% of Canadian clothing manufacturing establishments are micro-businesses with fewer than 100 employees
- Toronto has the highest concentration of fashion designers in Canada
- The cut and sew clothing manufacturing sector employed over 14000 Canadians in 2021
- Total salaries and wages in the clothing manufacturing industry exceeded $1 billion CAD annually
- There are over 3800 fashion designers employed across Canada
- Employment in the leather and allied product manufacturing sector was approximately 3500 in 2022
- Montreal ranks as one of the top 3 North American leaders in clothing manufacturing employment
- The fur and leather manufacturing industry in Canada employed roughly 500 people in 2021
- Women account for over 60% of the workforce in the Canadian apparel manufacturing sector
- Canada's retail fashion sector supports over 160000 indirect jobs in logistics and marketing
- The average age of a worker in the Canadian textile and clothing industry is 46 years old
- British Columbia holds approximately 11% of Canada's apparel manufacturing establishments
- The number of job vacancies in the retail trade sector including fashion averaged 98000 in Q1 2022
- Self-employment in the fashion design sector is higher than the national average at approximately 30%
Interpretation
Canada’s fashion sector is a patchwork of roughly 1,729 largely micro-businesses, stitching together a workforce that is over 60% female and concentrated in Quebec (about 46%) and Ontario (about 39%) with Toronto and Montreal as creative and manufacturing hubs, employing tens of thousands across cut-and-sew, retail and leather as well as over 3,800 designers, paying more than $1 billion in wages and supporting 160,000 indirect jobs while averaging $22.50 an hour in textile mills and contending with nearly 98,000 vacancies amid an aging, increasingly self‑employed talent pool.
Sustainability & Resale
- The Canadian secondhand apparel market is expected to grow to US$3.8 billion by 2026
- 82% of Canadians have donated clothing in the past year to extend its lifecycle
- The secondhand economy in Canada for clothing and accessories is growing 6 times faster than the broader retail economy
- Canadians throw away approximately 500 million kilograms of clothing and home textiles annually
- 36% of Canadian consumers say they consider sustainability when buying fashion products
- The value of the clothing resale market on Kijiji alone exceeds $500 million annually
- 52% of Canadians aged 18-24 have purchased secondhand clothing in the last 12 months
- Only 15% of textile waste in Canada is currently recycled or repurposed
- Value-conscious consumption has led 23% of Canadians to switch to thrift stores for apparel
- The rental fashion market in Canada helps divert approximately 5% of potential textile waste
- 40% of Canadians are willing to pay a premium for apparel made from sustainable materials
- There are over 1200 specialized vintage and resale clothing stores operating in Canada
- Searches for "sustainable fashion" in Canada have increased by 70% over the last five years
- Poshmark Canada reported a 150% increase in active users buying secondhand fashion since 2019
- 1 in 3 Canadians have sold a piece of clothing online to participate in the circular economy
- Canada Goose committed to fur-free manufacturing by the end of 2022 due to sustainability demands
- 66% of Canadian shoppers check the label for material composition before buying to gauge eco-friendliness
- The average Canadian purchases 70 new articles of clothing per year contributing to high turnover
- Resale of footwear in Canada has seen a year-over-year growth of 22%
- Investment in Canadian sustainable fashion startups reached $45 million in 2022
Interpretation
Canada's fashion industry is at a crossroads where a booming secondhand market projected at US$3.8 billion, surging sustainable interest and young shoppers embracing resale collide with the sobering reality of 500 million kilograms of annual textile waste and only 15% being recycled, meaning style is getting greener fast but the planet is still being dressed down.
Trade & Manufacturing
- Canada imports approximately $12 billion CAD worth of clothing annually
- The United States is the top export destination for Canadian apparel receiving over 75% of exports
- China is the largest source of apparel imports to Canada accounting for approximately 36% of the total
- Canadian apparel manufacturing sales reached 2.4 billion CAD in 2021
- Canada exported 1.9 billion CAD worth of clothing and accessories in 2022
- Bangladesh follows China as the second-largest supplier of apparel to Canada
- The trade balance for the Canadian apparel industry is a deficit of over 10 billion CAD annually
- Manufacturing shipments of cut and sew clothing fell by 14.8% during the pandemic year 2020
- Vietnam accounts for approximately 12% of Canada's total apparel imports
- Clothing exports from Quebec account for nearly 50% of the Canadian total
- There was a 17% increase in the value of apparel imports to Canada in 2022 as retail rebounded
- Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) governs tariff-free trade for qualifying Canadian fashion goods
- The value of footwear imports to Canada was approximately 2.6 billion CAD in 2021
- Cambodia supplies approximately 5% of Canada's apparel imports
- Canadian technical textile manufacturing sales which includes specialized apparel reached 3 billion CAD
- Exports of fur and leather products from Canada were valued at around 300 million CAD in 2021
- 90% of apparel sold in Canada is imported
- Domestic manufacturing focuses largely on high-end outerwear and designer goods
- Canada exported approximately 150 million CAD worth of hosiery and sock products in 2021
- The capacity utilization rate in the clothing manufacturing industry was 76.4% in 2022
Interpretation
Canada imports the wardrobe while manufacturing the high end label, spending about 12 billion Canadian dollars a year on clothing with 90 percent of what is sold coming from abroad, mostly China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, while a small domestic industry focused on outerwear, technical textiles and designer goods generates roughly 2.4 billion in apparel and 3 billion in technical textiles and exports about 1.9 billion mainly to the United States, yet the sector still records a trade deficit of over 10 billion even as imports rebounded 17 percent in 2022 and factories operated at about 76 percent capacity.
References
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