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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Cannabis Becomes Canada's Fifth Most Important Cash Crop David Browm StratCann Thursday 08 Oct 2026 Cannabis legalization transformed the sector from less than 1% of total farm receipts in 2016 to a competitor with crops like soybeans and corn, outpacing durum wheat, barley, lentils, and tobacco. According to Statistics Canada’s annual farm cash receipts data, cannabis farm receipts (Cannabis seeds, vegetative plants, and flowering tops, including leaves) in Canada have grown from $94.8 million in 2016 to more than $3 billion in 2025. In 2025, the crop was Canada’s fifth-most important cash crop, with 5.8% of total crop receipts, and ranked third in consumer market value, with annual retail sales of around $4.5 to $5 billion. Cannabis receipts (based on the wholesale value of raw harvested crops paid to farm operations) skyrocketed by 274% from 2016 to 2019, surging from under $100 million to over $1.4 billion as commercial production scaled rapidly to meet initial retail demand. After significant annual increases in the first few years of legalization, cannabis crop receipts briefly declined in 2023 and 2024, then rebounded in 2025. Receipts expanded from $94.8 million in 2016 to peak initial legalization volume over $2.7 billion in 2022, reaching an all-time high of $3 billion in 2025. In the Prairies, cannabis is dwarfed by traditional grain, oilseed, and pulse production. Still, in BC, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, and Newfoundland and Labrador, cannabis was the number one crop by total crop receipts in 2025. In Ontario and Quebec, it was the third-largest. Ontario saw the largest amount of total cannabis crop receipts in 2025 (48% of national total at $1.5 billion), followed by BC (22% at $666.5 million), Quebec (12%), New Brunswick (10%, and Alberta (3%). Hemp production shifts The amount of land cultivated for hemp in Canada remained relatively stable in 2025, while farmers continued to shift away from flower and back to seed/grain. Canada reported 15,380 hectares of hemp planted in 2025, down only 2.5% from the previous year. The majority of those crops were for grain (84%), while flower accounted for just 3% and fibre for 6%. Seed cultivation was another 7%. The hectarage dedicated to hemp grain increased by 53% year-over-year to 12,859 hectares in 2025, across 388 sites. While Health Canada stopped publishing annual industrial hemp licensing and cultivation statistics on its website after the 2023 season, the figures are still available upon request. Cannabis sales When including all processed consumer cannabis products (flower, oils, edibles, topicals) sold at legal adult-use dispensaries and medical channels, annual legal cannabis sales exceed $5 billion. Retail cannabis sales surpassed half a billion dollars in May and June 2026, both setting new records. Although growth in Canada’s retail cannabis sector has slowed in recent years, these latest sales numbers underscore continued retail expansion. While the market share of cannabis flower has been declining, higher-value products like pre-rolls and vapes, along with value-packs of edibles introduced in 2025, have been eating into this market share, likely contributing to this increase. Cannabis GDP Canada’s cannabis industry contributed nearly $11.6 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2025, led by cultivation and processing. Licensed cannabis producers contributed $10.647 billion in 2025, while licensed cannabis retailers contributed another $946 million. Both sides of the sector continue to grow annually, with the production side’s contribution to Canada’s GDP up 31% from 2024, while licensed retailers’ contribution rose 5%. https://stratcann.com/news/cannabis-becomes-canadas-fifth-most-important-cash-crop/
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