Canadians bought more than $16 billion worth of cannabis in the first five years of legalization

| Sarah Clark

Canadian cannabis stores sold more than $16 billion worth of cannabis products from October 2018 to October 2023, according to the newest figures from Statistics Canada.

Despite monthly fluctuations, Cannabis sales continue to climb in Canada year over year, with more than $448 million sold by the nearly 3,700 cannabis retailers nationwide as of October 2023. This is an increase from about $392 million in October 2022, although down from an August 2023 high of almost $467 million.

Monthly retail cannabis sales across Canada, October 2018-October 2023

The number of retail stores across Canada also continues to grow, although the pace has slowed considerably compared to the first four years of legalization. As of January 2024, there were 3,694 cannabis stores in Canada, excluding provincial online stores.

  • British Columbia: 510 public and private stores either open or “coming soon”
  • Alberta: 749
  • Saskatchewan: 182
  • Manitoba: 207, 115 of which are in Winnipeg 
  • Ontario: 1,787 as authorized to open 
  • Quebec: 98
  • New Brunswick: 31 public stores, plus six private stores and six farmgate stores for a total of 43
  • Nova Scotia: 49
  • PEI: 4 
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 52
  • Northwest Territories: 6 brick-and-mortar locations, plus 1 private online store
  • Nunavut: 1
  • Yukon: 6

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