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Retail Sales Keep Climbing in May

As the spring season turns into summer, nationwide cannabis retail sales climbed to $313.2 million in May 2021, a 2.27% increase over the month before. While overall retail sales decreased 2.1%, with core retail sales like gas stations and motor vehicle sales dropping 2.4%, most provinces saw increases in cannabis retail sales.

Atlantic Canada

Newfoundland and Labrador retailers saw the largest sales growth out of all the Atlantic provinces, recording an increase of 3.03% from $4.57 million to $4.72 million in May. Nova Scotia, unfortunately, saw the largest decline in sales. The province added five new stores distributing cannabis in May, however, sales dipped 7.85% from $7.8 million to $7.18 million.

Quebec and Ontario

Sales revenues in Ontario continue to surpass $100 million with retailers in the province bringing in a combined $111.17 million in May, however, sales only increased 2.77% after just over 100 new stores opened that month. Similarly, sales in Toronto only grew 0.11%, or around $100,000, going from $41.5 million to $41.6 million.

Is this merely a readjustment of sales post-4/20, or is Toronto’s retailer bloat beginning to show in the numbers?

Quebec held steady in May, seeing 1.59% more sales than the month before, bringing in $49.5 million overall. With only 68 stores in the province, Quebec maintains the highest average sales per store at $728,764.70 each, hundreds of thousands of dollars more than its closest competition, which is Ottawa at $533,850 for each of its 20 stores. Montreal earned a marginal increase of 2.67%, but Gatineau had the most impressive sales growth across the board, bringing in $15 million, 8.75% more than the month before.

Western Canada

Any gains that Saskatchewan had managed in April were unfortunately lost in May, sales decreasing 3.36% after increasing 3.33% the month before, with totals coming in at $12.8 million compared to $13.3 million previously.

Manitoba added nearly 10 new stores in May, bumping sales up 3.06% to $11.89 million compared to $11.54 million, and numbers in Winnipeg increased accordingly from $8.2 million to $8.4 million.

Alberta also saw modest gains in May—only 1.42%, nearly reaching the $60 million mark at $59.6 million province-wide. The cities everyone’s got their eyes on, Calgary and Edmonton each added nine stores over the course of the month, and while Calgary saw a small dip of 0.21%, still hovering around $15.9 million, Edmonton saw a 3.87% increase, earning $20.2 million compared to $19.5 million in April.

British Columbia continues to rise in the ranks as more licensed retailers pop up. Only five new stores opened in May, but sales rose 6.88% to $46.6 million from $43.6 million the month before. Vancouver is seeing a similar increase, bringing in 7.93% more than the month before for a total of $14.5 million.

 

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Canadian Cannabis Retail Sales – May 2021 (x1000)

Canada: $313,261

Newfoundland-Labrador: $4,721

Prince Edward Island: not reported

Nova Scotia: $7,188

New Brunswick: $6,359

Quebec: $49,556

-Montréal, Quebec: $25,325

-Quebec, Quebec: $5,890

-Gatineau, Quebec: $1,503

Ontario: $111,177

-Toronto, Ontario: $41,627

-Ottawa, Ontario: $10,677

Manitoba: $11,899

-Winnipeg, Manitoba: $8,415

Saskatchewan: $12,867

Alberta: $59,692

-Calgary, Alberta: $15,947

-Edmonton, Alberta: $20,246

British Columbia: $46,657

-Vancouver, BC: $14,551

Yukon: not reported

Northwest Territories: $611

Source: Statistics Canada

Tags: Alberta cannabis (62), British Columbia cannabis (45), Canada Cannabis (138), Canadian Cannabis (118), Cannabis Industry (191), Cannabis Retail (413), cannabis retail sales (33), Cannabis Sales (74), Manitoba cannabis (15), Ontario Cannabis (75), retail cannabis (43), Saskatchewan cannabis retail (6), Statistics Canada (51)