Retail sales fell 2% in April to $36.2 billion, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.
Most economists had predicted a decline of 0.4%.
Sales decreased in 10 of 11 retail subsectors and in all provinces.
Car dealers experienced a drop of 4.8% in sales of vehicles and parts. New car sales were the biggest part of this decline, falling 5.3%. Used cars sales fell by 4.4%.
Sales at automotive parts, accessories and tire stores rose for a third consecutive month, by 2.4%.
Clothing and clothing accessories stores saw sales decline 5.2%.
"This decline comes after a strong increase in March that was likely influenced by warmer than usual weather in much of Canada," Statistics Canada said.
Gasoline stations sales were down 2.0% after recording increases for the previous 11 months.
"At least part of April’s setback can be blamed on falling prices for goods such as gasoline," Derek Burleton, TD Bank's deputy chief economist, said in a commentary.
"This outperformance marked a reversal from the prior month, when prices helped to inflate cash registers," he said.
Among provinces, Quebec had the largest drop, with a decline of 3.9%, after five consecutive monthly increases.
The smallest decline in retail sales was in British Columbia, at 0.7%.
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