Dankr.ca – Your Toronto Connection
Article by Marcy Nicholson, Globe and Mail
Retail cannabis sales in Canada jumped above $85 million in May, up 15 per cent from April as more stores opened in the country’s biggest consumer market Ontario while increased purchases in Quebec were also a key factor, the most recent Statistics Canada data show..This marked the third straight month of double-digit growth for the country’s newest industry, with May sales up more than $11 million from April, as legal growers increased their production to meet consumer demand. Every province saw increased sales, with Ontario at the top at $22.8 million in May, up 16 per cent from April, followed by Alberta at $17.5 million, which was up 10 per cent month-over-month..Statistics Canada pegged Quebec’s recreational pot sales at $17.1 million, up 26 per cent from April..These three provinces made up roughly two-thirds of Canada’s legal recreational cannabis sales in May, calculations show..Sales are expected to have risen further in June and July after Alberta’s retail cannabis regulator lifted its licence moratorium due to improved supplies from licensed producers (LPs). Since the end of May, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) has granted 95 retail licences, nearly doubling the province’s tally to around 200..While newly licensed stores are now opening at a frenzied pace in Alberta, retailers say recreational pot supplies are more abundant than ever, leading to expectations for a surge in sales in the western province.Alberta has by far the largest amount of legal pot stores in the country, though numbers are ramping up across the country as LPs increase production, which has so far been sharply lower than demand amid a nation-wide shortage..Canada is widely expected to see a surplus of legal weed by 2020, though illegal purchases still account for the majority of pot sales.
