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Retail cannabis sales in Canada declined 4.9% in September, from an August high of $589 million to $560 million.
Sales increased month-by-month from February 2023 to August, following a post-Christmas decline from a previous peak of $511 million in December 2022.
Cannabis sales in Canada have continued to increase annually, despite periodic declines. While these declines in sales are generally after Christmas, smaller drops have also occurred just before December.
This current decline occurred alongside a downturn for other parts of the Canadian economy. Core retail sales for all of Canada—excluding gasoline stations, fuel vendors, and motor vehicle and parts dealers—were down 0.3% in September.
Data on retail trade for October will be released on December 21, 2023.
Wholesale trade for cannabis also declined from a peak in August of 288 million to $261 million. The previous high was $260 million in September 2022.
The number of retail stores across Canada also continues to grow, although the pace has slowed considerably compared to the first four years of legalization. As of October 2023, there were 3,654 cannabis stores in Canada, excluding provincial online stores, an increase of 14 stores from September.
- British Columbia: 513 public and private stores either open or “coming soon”
- Alberta: 749
- Saskatchewan: 176
- Manitoba: 194, 112 of which are in Winnipeg
- Ontario: 1,770 as authorized to open
- Quebec: 98
- New Brunswick: 25 public stores, plus seven private stores and six farmgate stores for a total of 37
- Nova Scotia: 49
- PEI: 4
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 49
- Northwest Territories: 6 brick-and-mortar locations, plus 1 private online store
- Nunavut: 1
- Yukon: 6
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