Statistics Canada released September retail sales for the country, with cannabis sales increasing from the August levels, down 1.4% to C$475.0 million.  This sequential decline was up on a per-day basis due to the lower number of days as the prior month. August, originally reported at C$498.7 million, was revised slightly higher to C$503.1 million. The sales in September were up 6.6% from a year ago, down from the level in May at 8.3% and from 7.5% in June. This was also down from the 20.3% August 2023 growth rate and above the prior lowest annual  growth rate since legalization commenced  of -0.9% in September 2024, and it was down substantially from the December growth of 9.1%.  The record growth in August was only 1.8% above the year-earlier level. In 2024, total sales increased 4.5% to C$5.39 billion, and they are up 4.9% so far in 2025.

An increase in the number of stores as well as falling flower prices that bring consumers from the illicit market have been boosting sales. In Ontario, the largest province in population, sales were down 5.0% from August and less than 1% from a year ago. Alberta was down 5.5% from August and up 4% from a year ago. British Columbia fell 6.0% from August as it increased 1% from a year ago, while Quebec was down 5.2% from August and up 48% from a year ago.

The October sales data will be released on December 19th.

Exclusive article by Alan Brochstein, CFA

Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online community 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email