Bestselling books in Canada's provinces and territories

You may have seen our list of the 150 bestselling Canadian-authored books from the past decade. We wanted to go a bit further in our exploration and see what was selling in each region of our fine country.

So we identified the 15 bestselling titles for each province and territory (combining the Northwest Territories and Nunavut) over the last 10 years by calculating total units sold according to BNC SalesData, the national sales tracking service for the English-language print trade market. (Why 15? We felt it would show more diversity in titles.) To see all the top 15 lists from each province and territory with the titles in ranked order, scroll down to the bottom of the post. Below we highlight the similarities — which books appear on every list? — and the differences — which province or territory has the most titles unique to its own list? 

This is the first post in a series on regional bestsellers that we'll be publishing throughout July. Each week we'll choose random provinces or territories to compare their Canadian bestsellers and look at different subject categories. So stay tuned to see what we Canadians have in common and where we differ.

The most common bestselling books across all provinces and territories

Here's a look at the most common titles across all provinces and territories. Only two books appeared on every single list: the adult erotica novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, and the young adult dystopian novel, The Hunger Games.

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Differences between the regions

Let's now look at the differences between the lists. The following titles were unique, appearing on just one province's bestseller list. (You might notice that Alberta and Manitoba are missing from the following graphic; that's because all 15 titles from their lists appeared on the list of at least one other province or territory.)

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Bestselling books by province or territory

Here are the top 15 lists by province or territory so you can see exactly which books are bestsellers in each region. Do you see anything you're surprised by? Let us know in the comments.

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Northwest Territories/Nunavut
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon

Alberta

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
3. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
4. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
5. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
6. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 
7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
9. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
10. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
11. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
12. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
13. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
14. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
15. Minecraft by Mojang

British Columbia

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
3. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
4. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
5. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
6. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
7. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
9. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
11. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
13. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
14. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
15. Minecraft by Mojang

Manitoba

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
3. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 
4. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
5. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
7. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
9. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
10. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
12. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
13. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
14. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
15. Minecraft by Mojang

New Brunswick

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
2. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
3. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. Minecraft by Mojang
6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
7. Grandma Says by Cindy Day
8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
10. Inferno by Dan Brown
11. Wheat Belly by William Davis
12. Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo
13. You Might Be from New Brunswick If... by Michael de Adder
14. Divergent by Veronica Roth
15. The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

Newfoundland and Labrador

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
2. Hurricane Igor by The Telegram and Transcontinental Media
3. Danny Williams: The War with Ottawa by Bill Rowe
4. The Man in the Red Suit by Bruce Templeton
5. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
6. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
7. Rock Recipes by Barry C. Parsons
8. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
9. Santa Is Coming to Newfoundland by Steve Smallman, illustrated by Robert Dunn and Jim Mitchell
10. Minecraft by Mojang
11. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw
12. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
13. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
14. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
15. The Premiers: Joey and Frank by Bill Rowe

Northwest Territories and Nunavut

1. Colour Your Way Through Yellowknife by Elizabeth Purchase and Tanya Leontyeva
2. Yellowknife by Donna Huffam and Peter Huffam
3. Minecraft by Mojang
4. We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp, illustrated by Julie Flett
5. Ramshackle by Alison McCreesh
6. Kinds of Winter by Dave Olesen
7. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw
8. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
9. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko
10. Smelly Socks by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko
11. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany
12. All the Way by Jordin Tootoo, with Stephen Brunt
13. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
14. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
15. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Nova Scotia

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
2. You Might Be from Nova Scotia If... by Michael de Adder
3. Grandma Says by Cindy Day
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
7. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
8. Minecraft by Mojang
9. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
11. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw
12. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
13. Inferno by Dan Brown
14. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
15. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Ontario

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
4. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
5. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
7. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
8. Minecraft by Mojang
9. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw 
10. Divergent by Veronica Roth
11. Inferno by Dan Brown
12. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany
13. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
14. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
15. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Prince Edward Island

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
2. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
6. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
8. Little Book of Prince Edward Island by John Sylvester
9. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw
10. Divergent by Veronica Roth
11. Minecraft by Mojang
12. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
13. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
14. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
15. I Am an Islander by Patrick Ledwell

Quebec

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
2. Paula by Andre Mathieu
3. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
4. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
5. Inferno by Dan Brown
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
7. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
9. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany
10. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
11. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
12. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
13. Comment j'ai vaincu la douleur et l'inflammation chronique par l'alimentation by Jacqueline Lagacé
14. A la rencontre des robots by Valérie Ménard
15. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Saskatchewan

1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
2. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw
3. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
4. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
5. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
6. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
7. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
8. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
9. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
10. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
11. Minecraft by Mojang
12. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
13. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
14. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
15. The Shack by William Paul Young

Yukon

1. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw
2. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
3. Minecraft by Mojang
4. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
5. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
6. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
8. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
9. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
11. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
12. Moose! by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko
13. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
14. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
15. Divergent by Veronica Roth