Retail sales of adult-use cannabis in Canada grew yet again in July, increasing by 15.2% over June’s record to another high of 231.6 million Canadian dollars ($175.6 million).
The July sales imply an annual Canadian marijuana market worth nearly CA$2.8 billion.
Monthly sales of regulated recreational cannabis increased across all Canadian provinces, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
Ontario, the largest province by population, saw monthly sales increase by 23.5% to CA$60.3 million.
The growth came after Ontario’s cannabis store license count surpassed 100 in June, a start to addressing the province’s deficiency in cannabis retail outlets.
Steven Fry, co-founder and CEO of Sessions Cannabis, has opened five retail locations in Ontario so far and plans to open 27 more by April 2021.
Two new Sessions locations opened in Ontario in July, and Fry said both experienced significant weekly sales growth.
“I think you’ll see that (growth) trend continue,” he said, adding that brick-and-mortar stores have proved far more popular than online sales in Ontario.
“People really want to go in brick-and-mortar stores, they want to engage with staff, they want to learn about the products, they want to have that convenience available to them,” said Fry.
“I think as more and more stores open up, you’ll see those numbers increase even further in the market here.”
Alberta, which has far more cannabis stores per capita than any other province, once again beat out the more populous provinces of Quebec and British Columbia with July sales of CA$51.8 million, a 10.9% monthly increase.
Recreational cannabis sales in Quebec, which has relatively few stores, grew by 9.8% on a monthly basis to CA$43.9 million.
In British Columbia, sales reached CA$34.6 million, a 17.6% monthly increase.
Manitoba sales increased 10.8% over June to CA$9.1 million, while Saskatchewan recorded the smallest monthly growth, 6.8%, to CA$11.9 million.
In eastern Canada, July retail sales were:
- New Brunswick: CA$6.4 million (+20.9%).
- Newfoundland: CA$4.1 million (+25.3%).
- Nova Scotia: CA$6.9 million (+12.2%).
- Prince Edward Island: CA$1.5 million (+35.3%).
Statistics Canada’s release of August retail trade figures is scheduled for Oct. 21.
Solomon Israel can be reached at solomon.israel@mjbizdaily.com
