As Canadians focus on ways to strengthen their economy in the wake of ongoing threats from the current US government, many in the Canadian cannabis industry say they think cannabis is being overlooked as an economic powerhouse.
Contributing hundreds of millions of dollars in excise tax to provinces since legalization began, and more than $8.3 billion to the country’s GDP in 2024, including the creation of thousands of jobs across the country, while not being at all reliant on US trade, Canada’s cannabis industry is in a unique position.
Despite this, the cannabis industry continues to be overlooked in provincial and federal efforts to strengthen Canada’s economy.
The industry has already contributed over $43 billion to GDP, supports 80,000 jobs, and generates significant tax revenue. With the right tax and regulatory reforms, it can drive even greater investment, innovation, and trade–helping to build a more self-reliant domestic economy.
Beena Goldenberg, Organigram
While Ottawa and most provinces recently agreed on a deal to allow cross-border, direct-to-consumer sales for alcohol, cannabis was ignored.
Canada recently announced billions of dollars in aid and other forms of support to Canadian businesses and people, who are expected to be directly affected by US tariffs while finding new markets abroad. The cannabis industry was not a part of that announcement either, despite Canada dominating the global market for cannabis exports.
According to the Canadian government, there were 67,475.28 kilograms of dried cannabis exported to the international market in the first six months of 2024 alone and 79,279.75 kilograms exported in 2023, a trend expected to continue.
“As a world leader in federally regulated cannabis production, Canada has a first-mover advantage in a global market projected to surpass $145 billion by 2026,” said Beena Goldenberg, Organigram CEO, in a recent post online.
“The industry has already contributed over $43 billion to GDP, supports 80,000 jobs, and generates significant tax revenue. With the right tax and regulatory reforms, it can drive even greater investment, innovation, and trade–helping to build a more self-reliant domestic economy.”
Companies like Organigram are ready to work with the Canadian government to bolster this market, she adds.
“This unprecedented challenge presents an opportunity to bolster made-in-Canada industries—including the regulated cannabis sector—and create a stronger, more resilient economy.”
Rick Savone, Senior Vice President of Global Government Relations at Aurora Cannabis, says there’s a lot more the government can do to help make the best use of the economic benefits the cannabis industry brings.
The cannabis industry can benefit from Canada’s goals of becoming more economically resilient by improving supply chains and increasing interprovincial trade in Canada.
Rick Savone, Aurora Cannabis
“If both the federal and provincial governments were to acknowledge and recognize medical cannabis as a key sector in Canada’s life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, that would help the cannabis industry tremendously,” Savone tells StratCann via email. “As a leader in the global medical cannabis market, Aurora is committed to working with the governments in Canada to prioritize and promote the economic benefits of medical cannabis and encourage them to include it in economic policy discussions and industry growth strategies.
“The cannabis industry can benefit from Canada’s goals of becoming more economically resilient by improving supply chains and increasing interprovincial trade in Canada. To do so, the current cannabis excise stamp regime—which is inefficient and costly—needs to be improved by quickly moving to a national excise stamp for the cannabis industry.”
Savone notes that while there are some supports in place for the Canadian medical cannabis export market, much more can be done, including lowering regulatory fees and doing more to advocate for Canadian companies in the international market.
“In regard to export support, while support from Embassy and Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) has improved for Canadian Licensed Producers, Global Affairs Canada sometimes refuses advocacy services for the cannabis sector, so we urge the Government of Canada to unleash the economic development potential of our medical cannabis industry,” adds Savone. “Also, Health Canada applies a 2.3% Annual Regulatory Fee (ARF) on export products, which poses significant challenges against foreign producers. Health Canada should stop applying the ARF to medical cannabis.”
Alannah Davis with the BC Cannabis Alliance, which represents cannabis producers in BC, recently shared similar sentiments with StratCann about being excluded from these conversations on interprovincial trade, especially when it’s already a strong part of the Canadian-made economy.
“As an industry that has proven itself to be durable through recessions with a supply chain that’s almost entirely Canadian, it’s disappointing to see cannabis being left out of conversations that would help keep Canadians employed while improving economic opportunities in BC’s rural communities,” Davis said.
