Ontario Premier Ford Promises Most Cannabis Shops in Canada
Ford Shoots Back at LPs, Says They Didn’t Have Supply – LPC
Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised his province will have the most cannabis shops in Canada during his talk with BNN.
“We’re going to open up stores,” Ford said. “We’re going to have more stores than all the provinces combined, so we’re going to make everything we can to help the cannabis industry.” (Please see link to original article below.)
At this point, Alberta has the most cannabis shops in Canada with about 402 stores, according to BNN. That compares to just 28 stores in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province. The premier has been widely criticized for restricting the market. The Ontario Cannabis Policy Council formed the same day it called for the Ford government to open more cannabis retail stores. Last fall, licensed producers (LPs) directly or indirectly blamed Ford for disappointing cannabis sales.
However, Ford disagreed with the assessment.
“Maybe I’ll shoot back a little bit,” Ford said. “(The LPs) didn’t have the supply ready. We’re doing it responsibly. We’re going to roll out the market and keep in mind it’s only been a little over a year and a bit and we’re opening up to the market.”
That may have been the case when cannabis was first legalized. But it appears that maybe Ontario could have had the most cannabis shops in Canada after all. Reports pointed to a cannabis oversupply and Aurora was found to be dumping cannabis supply.
What Will It Take for Ontario to Open The Most Cannabis Shops in Canada? – LPC
It appears the only thing that it will take for Ontario to have the most cannabis shops in Canada is political will. Ford hinted back in November 2019 that they might scrap the controversial retail cannabis store lottery. In December, he made it official by announcing the Ontario retail cannabis market would open up.
Ontario started taking applications for new cannabis shops on January 6, 2020. According to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), it has received over 600 applications so far. However, “many” have missing information, which will cause delays, it says. The plan is to award 20 new licences every month starting in April. That could potentially mean 200 new stores in Ontario by December 31, 2020, but chances are it would be fewer.
Either way, it’s still a long way from having the most cannabis shops in Canada. But it is a step – and a step that LPs are certainly applauding.
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