Ontario marijuana monopoly picks Shopify to process sales

Ontario’s government-run provincial cannabis retailer will use Shopify’s software platform to process recreational marijuana sales online and in brick-and-mortar stores.

Shopify is an e-commerce company based in Ontario. It is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SHOP.

Shopify’s software will be used by the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., a subsidiary of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, to process transactions and manage operations related to inventory, accounting and human resources, according to The Canadian Press.

Sales of recreational cannabis in Ontario will be restricted to 40 government-owned standalone stores and online pending legalization, which is expected to take place later this summer.

That compares to an unlimited number of private retailers in British Columbia and Alberta and upwards of 60 stores in Saskatchewan.

Although retail entrepreneurs will be shut out of Ontario’s recreational cannabis market, the province’s tourism sector could see significant business opportunities.

Ontario is weighing recreational cannabis consumption in hotels, lounges and RVs, a move that would create a “‘potentially huge” new tourism industry.

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