When Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted a video to social media of him smiling and clinking cans in front of a convenience store display to celebrate the start of beer, wine, and mixed drink sales, it signalled the province’s support of the liquor industry and desire to see it grow.
Posted to Ford’s Instagram account on September 5, the change to allow liquor sales at more than 4,000 convenience stores gives consumers “more choice and convenience,” he said, and will be expanded to include grocery and big-box stores in the near future.
“Delivering on our promise to treat people like adults while giving small businesses the chance to grow and create more local jobs,” read the post.
The cannabis industry doesn’t have a provincial politician or policy maker championing it like this anywhere in Canada, which is part of the reason why, nearly six years after legalization, small and mid-sized producers are still finding it difficult to stay solvent, the illicit market remains entrenched, and tourism has yet to take off.
It’s at the provincial level where change is needed to unlock the plant’s potential, says an Edmonton city councillor.
In October 2022, Coun. Michael Janz put forward a plan to make Edmonton the “Cannabis Industry Capital of the World,” but doing so would require policy changes by the province to allow places like cannabis cafes and lounges to operate.
Two years later, those changes still haven’t been made, and they are not being considered.
“The log-jam is at the provincial government,” said Janz.
“We need the provincial ministers who are giving the rhetoric about cutting red tape and Alberta is open for business and all of this, we need them to look at, it’s been six years, virtually without incident. (Legalization) has gone very well. Far, far better than even the toughest critics would have imagined … now we need them to get out of the way and start letting the entrepreneurs and creative spirits do their thing.”
Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) is in charge of sales, and Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally was tasked with overseeing the sector’s growth in 2023. Municipalities can create their own rules around consumption.
Cafes and lounges are “currently not being considered,” said press secretary Brandon Aboultaif in an emailed statement.
“In the last year, we simplified employment requirements for new employees so cannabis retailers can hire staff more quickly, while still ensuring necessary training safeguards,” it read. “We reduced listing fees for licensed producers by 83 per cent and shipping fees for retailers by 11 per cent, and we also now allow licensed cannabis retailers to operate temporary sales locations at adults-only events like trade shows and festivals.”
Nally was not available for an interview as he was away on vacation, but he spoke at the Grow Up Conference on Sept. 29 Edmonton.
Aboultaif also pointed to changes like allowing retailers to open at 9 a.m., removing signage restrictions, and simplifying the steps for age verification for online purchases.
“We look forward to continuing to work with industry to identify opportunities to ease regulatory burden and strengthen our cannabis industry,” he said.
BC now allows “cannabis consumption spaces” on patios where tobacco and vaping are permitted.
The slow pace of change around policy has prevented the industry from growing in Alberta, says Fernando Di Capua, a consultant and founder of the 10:01 Group.
“There’s statistics coming out right now that show the industry kind of flatlining, which shouldn’t be the case,” he said. “We should be growing month over month. Even with hundreds of thousands of newcomers to Alberta and across Canada, the industry is still flat, it should be growing.”
Rules should also be streamlined across the country, said Di Capua.
“You’re allowed to have a rosin press in Ontario in the stores, but no retailer in Alberta has ever had a rosin press inside their store,” he said.
“I feel like Alberta really got out of the gate with the legal industry, having the most stores right away. We had 100 stores before most provinces… we jumped the gun at the start of legalization, and I feel like other provinces have caught up and passed the AGLC in terms of deregulating and allowing for smoother performance of the industry.”
Along with cafes and lounges, Di Capua says allowing farm-gate sales and direct delivery from producers to retailers will make a big difference.
“We legalized the plant but we still have all these precautionary business tactics in place, it kind of feels like the industry has handcuffs on, or training wheels.”
