Canada has collected more than $5.4 billion in tax revenues from cannabis since its legalization

According to the latest federal data, Canada collected over CAN$5.4 billion in cannabis tax revenues since legalization in October 2018.

These figures, released as part of a question on the House of Commons Order Paper submitted by Quebec Conservative MP Luc Berthold, provide one of the most detailed overviews to date of the distribution of cannabis tax revenues.

Ontario and Alberta lead provincial gains

Most of the revenue generated by legal cannabis sales went to the provinces, which collectively captured $4.2 billion of the total. All by themselves, Ontario accounted for $1.5 billion, the country's largest share.

However, Alberta stands out as the biggest winner per capita. Although it has less than a third of Ontario's population, the province earned just over a billion dollars, approximately 210 per person, which represents the highest per capita yield in Canada. The Alberta figure is far ahead of the Northwest Territories ($135.80 per person) and the Yukon ($126.35), the Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador coming a long way behind.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Quebec recorded the lowest per capita tax revenues from recreational cannabis: 55.31 per resident since 2018. Visit prudent retail expansion model and the province's strict price controls may help explain this discrepancy.

Federal government falls short of financial projections

While the provinces benefited greatly from this situation, the federal government's share of revenues, i.e. 1.2 billion dollars, did not meet Ottawa's initial expectations.

In the 2018-2019 federal budget, the government planned to 690 million dollars of revenue in the first five years of legalization. Instead, at the end of the’fiscal year 2022-2023, Ottawa collected approximately 567 million dollars, far less than expected.

This deficit is fuelling discussions within the’canadian cannabis industry on the impact of federal tax rules. Visit producers have long been warning that the excise tax structure and provincial profit margins reduce margins and threaten the viability of legal businesses.

Spending on cannabis education falls well short of targets

The published data also highlight another disparity: the public spending on education and prevention related to cannabis have not kept pace with the revenues generated.

Ottawa had reserved 83 million dollars for education initiatives in the five years following legalization. But Health Canada reports having spent only 21.6 million dollars to date, barely a quarter of what had been promised.

More than half of this amount (13 million dollars) was spent in the first year alone, 2018-2019. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, investment fell dramatically. In 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, Health Canada has allocated less than $500,000 per year to education and prevention programs.

Since then, expenditure has risen to 2.3 million dollars for the year 2024-2025. Since legalization, the federal government has also provided 29.6 million dollars 26 additional education and prevention initiatives implemented by external organizations.

Seven years after legalization, the cannabis industry The economic impact of legal cannabis has been significant, but its distribution - and its alignment with public health commitments - remains uneven.