A report said 149,439 new vehicles were purchased throughout the country in February, with declines seen in seven provinces.

"After experiencing the strongest growth in 10 years in January, passenger car sales dropped 1.9 percent to 80,628 units in February," StatsCan said. "Sales of minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses slumped 4.7 percent to 68,811 units."

Sales of North American-built passenger cars fell 6 percent to 50,500 units; sales of overseas-built passenger cars increased 5.7 percent to 30,128 units, the report said.

Preliminary industry data for March suggest the number of new vehicles sold will remain relatively unchanged, the agency said.