Provincial Updates/
Ontario
In late November, Toronto and Peel Region were put into lockdown as a result of increased positive cases during the winter season. As a result, cannabis retailers in Ontario have been deemed “essential services” allowing for curbside and delivery pickup services. Police busted a $42-million, large-scale production and distribution network in August through “Project Woolwich,” a year-long investigation that resulted in several arrests of people in the Niagara Region and the Greater Toronto Area.
Manitoba
In early November, Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. surpassed one million transactions through its retail cannabis stores since legalization of recreational-use cannabis. This also includes more than $50 million in-store and online retail revenues, and an average Gross Profit margin of approximately 26%.
Alberta
At the end of September, Alberta removed its cap on cannabis stores around the province to allow companies to take up more of the market share. The provincial government amended the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Regulation to remove a restriction that previously prevented any one person or group from controlling more than 15% of cannabis licences issued in Alberta. The government introduced the 15% cap prior to cannabis’ legalization in October 2018.
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Cannabis Prospect Magazine | December 2020
Quebec
The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) got its 2020-2021 fiscal year off to a strong start. For its first quarter, which began March 29, 2020, and ended June 20, 2020, the company had sales of $110.4 million, an increase of $65.3 million from the first quarter of its preceding fiscal year. The SQDC reported net income of $9.7 million for the quarter, an increase of $8.4 million over the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2019-2020. The SQDC’s growth is largely related to its retail deployment plan, with the company having 42 stores in operation on June 20, 2020, versus 16 on the same date last year.
Saskatchewan
Headset, a provider of data and analytics to the cannabis industry, announced the launch of its competitive intelligence tool, Headset Insights, in Saskatchewan in late October. In addition to Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, this will be Headset’s fourth Canadian retail-derived cannabis market read based on aggregated Point of Sale data at the receipt level. The expansion of Headset Insights into Saskatchewan will provide for a more robust and comprehensive reading of the rapidly-growing Canadian cannabis market.
British Columbia
In the 14 months that followed legalization, police reported more than 18,000 incidents under the Cannabis Act, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The most commonly reported offences related to importation or exportation (64% of all Cannabis Act incidents), followed by possession (13%) and sales (7%). British Columbia (74 incidents per 100,000 population) and Quebec (104 incidents per 100,000 population) reported higher rates of cannabis offences than the rest of the country, which had a national rate of 45 incidents per 100,000 population.
