Strong demand in Ontario and parts of western Canada drove industry sales of 171,560 new vehicles in the month of August, up from 159,004 a year ago, said Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

A 14 percent jump in truck sales offset essentially flat car sales.

Canada's "hot" auto market has set five monthly sales records this year, DesRosiers said in a report, with year-to-date sales up a "spectacular" 4.6 percent at 1,256,649 vehicles.

In the United States, August sales were the highest for that month in more than a decade, helped by heavy discounting from manufacturers and a strong Labor Day weekend close, as the industry sold at an annualized pace not seen since early 2006.

U.S. August sales rose 5.4 percent from a year ago to 1,583,476 vehicles, according to a Reuters analysis.

Canada's top seller in August was Ford Motor Co of Canada Ltd (>> Ford Motor Company) which maintained leadership for a fifth consecutive month.

Total sales rose 2.6 percent to 27,988 vehicles. Truck sales climbed 10.4 percent, to 22,539 vehicles, offsetting a 20.5 percent drop in car sales, to 5,449 vehicles.

"We look forward to continued momentum in the fall," said Ford Canada Chief Executive Officer Dianne Craig in a statement.

Chrysler Canada said it posted a 22 percent jump in sales, to 26,825 cars and trucks, marking its biggest August sales ever and best year-to-date sales on record.

Truck sales rose 33.3 percent, to 24,302 vehicles, while car sales dropped 31.8 percent to 2,523, said Chrysler, a unit of Fiat SpA (>> Fiat SpA). Year-to-date, sales are up 7 percent.

Strong sales of core brands put the company "on pace to have the best year in our 89-year history," said Chrysler Canada Chief Operating Officer David Buckingham in a statement.

General Motors of Canada Ltd (>> General Motors Company) reported a 4.8 percent August sales increase, to 22,111 vehicles. Truck sales grew 7.3 percent to 16,089 vehicles, but car sales dipped 1.1 percent to 6,022 vehicles.

Honda Canada (>> Honda Motor Co Ltd) reported a 44 percent jump in August sales of its Honda and Acura brands to 13,663 vehicles.

Honda unit sales rose 50 percent to 12,081 vehicles, while Acura sales grew 9 percent, to 1,582 vehicles.

Toyota Canada Inc (>> Toyota Motor Corp) said monthly sales rose 4.8 percent to 18,487 vehicles, lifted by a 9.2 percent increase in truck sales to 8,978 vehicles, an all-time August record.

(Editing by Franklin Paul, Matthew Lewis and Nick Zieminski)

By Susan Taylor