surrey Cannabis News

Surrey approves two more cannabis stores

Written by David Brown on May 2, 2025. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Government.

Surrey City Council approved two more cannabis stores on April 28, two weeks after the approval of the city’s first nine locations on April 14.

One of the new locations is in Cloverdale at 5828 176 St, while the second is in North Surrey at 104-12499 88 Ave. The city had initially planned for up to 12 locations.

As with the first nine locations, the council voted 5-4 on each of the nine applications, with councillors Mandeep Nagra, Rob Stutt, Gordon Hepner, and Mayor Brenda Locke all voting against both locations.

Council now sends their recommendations to the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch for final approval to issue a Cannabis Retail Store License. (h/t Surrey Now-Leader)

BC currently lists 534 cannabis stores in the province, including 39 BC Cannabis Store locations. Surrey is BC’s second-largest municipality, with a population of close to 700,000 people.

Richmond, BC, located west of Surrey and home to more than 200,000 people, also does not allow any cannabis retailers.

Over the past six years, many cannabis retailers have located themselves along Surrey’s border in neighbouring municipalities like Langley and Vancouver.

Pitt Meadows, a small city of approximately 20,000, about an hour away from Surrey, began allowing cannabis stores in 2023. The third-largest city in Ontario, Mississauga, also began allowing cannabis stores in 2023. Mississauga has a population of around 750,000.

Featured image of one of the new locations, 12499 88 Ave., via Google Maps

Surrey moves forward with nine cannabis store applications

Written by David Brown on April 15, 2025. Posted in British Columbia, Business, Cannabis News, Government, Retail.

Surrey City Council has finally approved a handful of cannabis stores in BC’s second largest city, more than six years after sales became legal in Canada. The applications now head to the BC government for final approval.

On April 14, the council recommended nine retail cannabis locations to the BC government for approval. The council voted 5-4 on each of the nine applications, with councillors Mandeep Nagra, Rob Stutt, Gordon Hepner, and Mayor Brenda Locke all voting against each location.

The stores, if they receive final approval from the BC government, will be the first in the city. Surrey City Council first released a proposal for up to 12 cannabis stores in early 2024, approving the plan in April.

At the time, the city had said it would consider up to two locations for each of its six distinct communities: Whalley/City Centre, Newton, South Surrey, Guildford, Cloverdale, and Fleetwood. Three of those original stores were not included in this round of approvals.

The nine applications are:

Burb Cannabis on Croydon Drive
Dutch Love Cannabis on 24 St
Dutch Love on 102 Ave
Imagine Cannabis on King George Boulevard
Imagine Cannabis Co on 152 St
1486965 B.C. Ltd dba Inspired Cannabis on 152 Street
1181168 B.C. Ltd dba Inspired Cannabis on Fraser Highway
R. Basran on Fraser Highway
1486965 B.C. Ltd on 150 St

BC currently lists 534 cannabis stores in the province, including 39 BC Cannabis Store locations.

During the meeting, the COO of a BC cannabis retailer called for the City of Surrey to suspend and review its new cannabis retail licensing process, calling into question some of the city’s processes.

In a letter presented to the city, Chris Grzywacz, the Chief Operating Officer at Seed & Stone, a cannabis retail chain in BC with six locations, calls on Surrey City Council to pause its current licensing process for a handful of retail stores, suggesting that another group of retail chains seems to be the primary beneficiary of the city’s recently-changed cannabis store rules. (Note: This article was edited to correct the number of stores Seed & Stone has in BC from eight to six).

Specifically, Grzywacz’s letter highlights what he says are questionable alignments between the interests of retail chain Inspired Cannabis, such as the removal of a distance criteria from parks and playgrounds and the inclusion of experience in pharmacy operations as part of Surrey’s cannabis retail scoring criteria. The owners of Inspired have such experience, says the letter.

It also alleges that Imagine Cannabis “shared comments related to what appeared to be internal details of Surrey’s initial cannabis retail framework” at a Surrey Board of Trade (SBOT) cannabis industry event held on March 31, 2023, which were similar to the framework the city announced a year later.

“The degree of overlap raises questions/concerns that certain industry participants had undue access to, or influence over, the City’s internal decision-making process,” states the letter.

The letter also states that it’s “a remarkable coincidence” that Inspired Cannabis and another retail chain, Dutch Love, submitted applications in different neighbourhoods, while alleging, with examples, a connection between Inspired, Dutch Love, and another retail chain, Imagine Cannabis.

“Either it is a remarkable coincidence that they did not compete head on, or there was a coordinated approach by individuals and companies that share a common history to maximize market share in Surrey.”

Inspired, Imagine, and Dutch Love all have two accepted applications, each seeking approval from the city, accounting for half of the twelve locations the city opened for a potential cannabis store.

Inspired, Imagine, and Dutch Love were not available for comment as of press time.

Featured image shows an Imagine Cannabis in Delta, BC.