Canada: huge cannabis plantations in the offing

The cannabis industry in Canada is booming. Limited for the moment to medical cannabis, the total size of cannabis cultivation facilities under construction in Canada is increasingly staggering.

The country's federal government is aiming for legalization of recreational cannabis by july 1, 2018, and Canada is already estimating that supplies will be slim once cannabis is legalized. This shortage is one of the many reasons why cannabis cultivation facilities are about to increase dramatically across the country.

MYM Nutraceuticals is a medical cannabis distribution and cultivation company in Canada. The company recently revealed that it had signed an agreement with the town of Weedon, Quebec, to build a 1.5 million foot, 15 greenhouse cannabis production facility. Once completed, the project will be one of the largest cannabis cultivation operations in the world, capable of producing over 150,000 kg of cannabis per year, which would bring in over CAD 750 million annually. Roughly speaking, one of the world's largest plantations.

«This is a significant agreement for our company and shareholders,» explains Rob Gietl, CEO of MYM Nutraceuticals. «The goals and exclusivity of this project will bring global attention to the company and push it to its next stage of growth: we have all the engineers, architects and consultants on site and with the full support of the Town of Weedon, we are moving forward at an accelerated pace.»

Also in the province of Alberta, the company Aurora Cannabis is currently building a cannabis cultivation plant near the Edmonton airport. The 800,000-square-foot facility, larger than 16 soccer fields, will also be one of the largest cannabis installations in the world.

This is what's been done on the Aurora facility so far. What you see is about 20% of what's to come. #yeg pic.twitter.com/j5cX2Tynsq

- Fletcher Kent (@FletcherKent) June 16, 2017

The price tag for building Aurora is estimated at $100 million, and will generate 200 to 300 jobs in the Edmonton area. «We're using technologies that have never been used before, in cannabis production and agriculture. There will be robotics involved in the construction, and we'll be able to closely monitor our plants more than any other agricultural facility in the world,» said Cam Battley, CEO of Aurora Cannabis.

On the other hand, the country's municipal council has opted for caution and adopted a bylaw to regulate cannabis cultivation on its territory, where authorized growers will be able to set up shop.

Mehdi Bautier