Canadians spent more than $2.6 billion on cannabis products in 2020, more than doubling their spending totals from 2019.
Statistics Canada provided data that shows Canada’s legal recreational cannabis market increased 120 percent from the numbers recorded in its 2019 data, which tracked sales from October 2018, when cannabis was first legalized in Canada, to the end of September 2019. The country ended 2020 with nearly 1,400 cannabis stores open for business, up from the roughly 760 stores in 2019.
According to the Brightfield Group’s latest “Canadian Cannabis Market” report, the growth of the Canadian cannabis industry could be attributed to an increase in brick-and-mortar retail stores in addition to pricing that is more competitive to the illegal market. An increase in the diversity of products and brands were also seen as a key factor in driving up the legal market, with 52 percent of adults who purchased cannabis saying they purchased legally, as opposed to the 33 percent who still rely on the illegal market.
“The Canadian market is witnessing impressive growth, with adult-use cannabis growing 118 percent in 2020 and in line to grow another 60 percent this year. That growth has ushered in a new era of adult-use cannabis, one that has brought not only an ever-evolving set of both 1.0 and 2.0 product offerings, but increasingly sophisticated and strategic competitors across the supply chain, and more diverse and demanding consumers,” Jamie Schau, international research manager at the Brightfield Group, said.
Dried cannabis flower remained the biggest seller in the country, with about $2.01 billion of dried flower and pre-roll products being sold in 2020. The next-leading category was extracts and concentrates, which totaled $323.9 million sold, or 12.3 percent of all sales. Extracts and concentrates, as well as edibles, were made legal for retail sale in October 2019. Ontario led the country in sales again last year, with $727.5 in cannabis products sold in the province. Alberta came in second, with $573 million in sales.
