MJBizMag September 2020 - 49

Most of Canada's large producers
have an Ontario address, partly because
the province is home to Toronto, the
country's financial hub. Investors rained
capital over cultivators in the early
years of legalization-but in retrospect,
most of the large companies made poor
investment decisions by wagering on
large cultivation facilities. Across the
province, massive cannabis greenhouses
now sit empty, and many of them will
probably never produce cannabis again.
Ontario's legal cannabis industry is
growing, but it will grow much faster
when regulators allow fair competition
with the illicit market. The province
has pledged to allow farm-gate sales,
privatize wholesale cannabis and create
a framework for " craft " producers.
Time will tell whether Ontario follows
through on those pledges, however.
For details about the provincial
wholesaler's supplier process, see
peicannabiscorp.com/pages/suppliers.
home cultivation. The only large
producer in the province, Hexo Corp.,
had to move its headquarters to Ontario
because of an insurance dispute. In
Quebec's cannabis market, things can
only get better; they can't get much
worse. Despite the government's heavy
hand, Quebec remains the third-largest
adult-use cannabis market in Canada. It
is the second-most populous province
with more than 8 million residents.
QUEBEC
Monthly adult-use retail sales:
$28.9 million (CA$38.5 million)*
Active medical patient registrations:
16,904 (up 57.7% since legalization)
Number of retail stores per 10,000
residents: 0.05 (43 open stores)
Retail system: Government-owned
Wholesale: Société Québécoise du Cannabis
E-commerce: Government-controlled
* As of May 2020
PRINCE EDWARD
ISLAND
Monthly adult-use retail sales:
$432,688 (CA$575,000)*
Active medical patient registrations: 1,439
(down 6.9% since legalization)
Number of retail stores per 10,000
residents: 0.25 (four stores or licenses issued)
Retail system: Government-owned
Wholesale: Prince Edward Island Liquor
Control Commission
E-commerce: Government-controlled
* As of May 2020
Like most East Coast markets,
Prince Edward Island's government
monopolized cannabis retail, wholesale
and e-commerce. Those functions are
operated by PEI Cannabis Management
Corp., so there are no private-sector store
opportunities in the regulated market.
The island has the smallest adult-use
market among Canada's 10 provinces.
The Quebec market suffers from a
chronic lack of retail stores and heavy
government regulation that allows the
illicit market to thrive. The provincial
government has not exactly put out the
welcome mat for the cannabis industry.
Instead, it has banned vape pens, raised
the age of consumption and prohibited
Frontenac
Castle in Old
Quebec City
Saskatchewan
Monthly adult-use retail sales:
$7.9 million (CA$10.6 million)*
Active medical patient registrations: 7,385
(down 14.9% since legalization)
Number of retail stores per 10,000
residents: 0.37 (44 stores or licenses issued)
Retail system: Private sector
Wholesale: Privately owned
E-commerce: Privately owned
* As of May 2020
Saskatchewan is one of Canada's more
business-friendly provinces for cannabis
companies, but it has a relatively small
adult-use market, and the medical sector
is in decline.
The province's Ministry of Agriculture
allowed cannabis cultivators to access
cost-sharing grants funded through
the Canadian Agricultural Partnership
(CAP), a joint federal-provincial program
to boost agriculture and commercial food
businesses across Canada.
Fifty-one retailers were selected by
lottery when legalization kicked off,
but now the province is ready to open
things up: Private-store applications
will be accepted for most communities.
Saskatchewan also allows stores to
sell cannabis online and to act as
wholesalers-two functions most
provinces kept a tight grip on.
September 2020 | mjbizdaily.com 49
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MJBizMag September 2020

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