NSLC financial report: Earnings slightly down this year, local alcohol, cannabis sales up

An NSLC location is pictured in Cole Harbour, N.S. (Jonathan MacInnis/CTV Atlantic)

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) released its year-end results on Tuesday.

The financial report represents the fiscal year from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.

Total NSLC sales for the period were $898.4 million, up 1.1 per cent from the previous year. Alcoholic beverage sales totalled $759.5 million, down 0.2 per cent from the same period last year.

Cannabis sales reached $138.8 million, an increase of 9.3 per cent from last year.

Total earnings for the NSLC were $268.8 million, a decrease of 4.1 per cent.

“While overall sales saw modest growth last year, our results reflect a business that continues to adapt in a challenging retail environment,” says NSLC president and CEO Greg Hughes in a statement.

“As we managed rising operational costs and changing shopper habits, our team members remained focused on supporting local producers,” he adds.

Sales of local products increased 11.2 per cent to $150.9 million. Local alcoholic beverages like spirits, wine, beer and coolers increased 11.6 per cent to $110 million.

Local cannabis sales increased 10.2 per cent to $39.9 million. Nova Scotia cannabis products accounted for 28.7 per cent of all cannabis sales.

“As Nova Scotia’s authorized cannabis retailer, we are focused on enhancing the shopping experience and ensuring Nova Scotians have access to regulated and legal cannabis,” says Hughes.

In March 2025, the province decided to pull American-made alcoholic beverages from its shelves as a countermeasure to U.S. tariffs.

In December, the province announced it would sell the existing inventory from the U.S.

From Dec. 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, American-made alcoholic product sales totalled just over $10 million.

The province gave $5.3 million of the net proceeds from the U.S. alcohol sales to local food relief initiatives run by non-profits and charities across Nova Scotia.

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