The New Brunswick Liquor Corporation (NBLC) has issued new Requests for Quotations (RFQ) for several new privately-run cannabis stores in the province. 

On January 27, NBLC posted RFQs for retail cannabis store locations in Cap Pelé, Saint John, Rogersville, and St George. New Brunswick has already issued nine different private retail cannabis store licences.

Note: On February 3, Cannabis NB added a RFQ for a fifth retail location, this one in Belle Baie.

The provincial government, which first announced its plans for around a dozen new stores in 2021 under the previous PC government, began the vetting process for ten new private cannabis stores following a tender process that ended in October 2022. The first, a Cannabis Xpress, opened in the summer of 2023. The tenth, located in Dalhousie, is expected to be licensed later this year. The Liberal Party of New Brunswick formed government in the province in late 2024, following the most recent provincial election.

The provincial government’s goal in adding private stores was to bring cannabis to smaller, underserved communities. The province currently operates 27 public Cannabis NB stores, nine privately run cannabis stores, and seven cannabis farmgate stores. 

The Cannabis NB FarmGate program allows licensed New Brunswick cannabis producers to sell their own products on-site at their facilities. However, privately operated cannabis stores in the province still must purchase their products from Cannabis NB, which controls distribution in the province.

Cap Pelé has a population of around 2,500 and is located about a 30-minute drive from Moncton. Rogersville has a population of about 1,200 and is located about an hour’s drive north of Moncton.  St. George has a population of about 1,500 and is located in the southwest corner of the province, near the border with Maine. 

Loch Lomond Rd. is in east Saint John, NB, with a population of around 71,000 and four current CannabisNB locations. 

Cannabis NB also recently posted a job listing for a new store in Fredericton. 

The closing date for four of potential new private cannabis stores in New Brunswick is currently listed as February 26, 2025. Questions must be submitted by 4:30 PM AST on February 10, 2025. The fifth RFQ, shared on February 3, has a close date of March 3, 2025, at 1:30 PM AST.

In its 2024-2026 Strategic Plan, the provincial cannabis agency also says it’s looking to increase opportunities for private sector participation in the legal cannabis market in New Brunswick and explore possible options for “on-site consumption opportunities” that can increase legal access and “meet the needs of current and potential customers.”

A recent annual report from Cannabis NB shows that while dried cannabis flower continues to make up the majority of sales, its market share, like in many other provincial markets, is shrinking as concentrate sales increase. New Brunswickers prefer more “convenient” cannabis products as the market continues to shift to products like vape pens, concentrates, and pre-rolls, especially infused pre-rolls, notes the report. 

New Brunswick sold nearly $27 million worth of cannabis in the second quarter of 2024.

Featured image of Cap Pelé, via Google Street View.

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