The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) says cannabis sales were $27.6 million for the third quarter of 2022/23, an increase of 9.2 per-cent from the same reporting period in the previous year. 

The NSLC saw $27,556,889 in sales from October 3, 2022–January 1, 2023, compared to $25,229,592 for Q3 2021/22. 

The increase in sales can potentially be attributed to the addition of a new modular retail outlet in an existing store in Inverness, bringing the total number of NSLC cannabis stores to 46. The province has just under one million residents. The province has also seen the average price per gram decline just over 1% to $6.30 compared to the same time last year. 

Locally-produced cannabis products now account for 31% of all cannabis sales in the province at  $27.6 million, an increase of 9.2% from the same time period last year, and the largest percentage the province has seen so far. 

 “We continue to support local producers by collaborating with local supplier and industry associations, providing marketing support, research, and in-store promotions,” said Greg Hughes, president and CEO of NSLC. “In addition, we  increased the number of local products we offer our customers this quarter compared to the same time last year.”

Retail customer transactions for cannabis were also up 13.8 per-cent, while the average dollar value of each transaction decreased by 4 per-cent to $38.29.

Although Q3 sales represented an increase from the same quarter in the previous year, they represented a small decline from the NSLC’s Q2 report for July 4, 2022–October 2, 2022. Sales in that time period were $28.8 million. 

Recent figures from Statistics Canada show cannabis sales across the country were up 23.4% from December 2021 compared to December 2022 and 14.8% from November 2022 to December 2022.