The legal cannabis industry contributed $7 billion $ to Canada's GDP

L’Canada's legal cannabis industry continues to play a important role in the country's economy, contributing nearly 7.7 billion to GDP in 2023, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada and as reported by StratCann.

A key sector of the Canadian economy

Most of the economic contribution of the’legal cannabis industry comes from cannabis production, which represented approximately 6.8 billion in 2023.

In addition, the cannabis retail sales added nearly 900 million dollars in total. While the industry grew steadily in the first four years after legalization, it declined slightly in 2022, when its contribution to GDP peaked at just under 8 billion dollars.

Beyond the legal market, the illicit cannabis industry is also studied, adding nearly 2.7 billion dollars to GDP in 2023. This figure includes an estimate of 892 million dollars from unlicensed cannabis sellers, both online and in physical stores, the remains equivalent to illicit production.

Outperforming other sectors

The economic footprint of legal cannabis has surpassed that of several established Canadian sectors. By 2023, the cannabis industry's contribution to GDP exceeded that of breweries ($3 billion), wineries and distilleries (just over $1 billion) combined. In fact, licensed cannabis retailers alone generated almost as much revenue as the entire’wine and spirits industry.

In addition, the licensed cannabis production surpassed that of several key industries, including gold and silver mining, furniture manufacturing, postal services, gambling, dairy manufacturing, coal mining, fishing, hunting and trapping, and ship and boat building.

These comparisons show the growing role of legal cannabis as a pillar of the Canadian economy, competing with industries that have long contributed to GDP.

With its strong economic impact, the legal cannabis market faces ongoing challenges, including price competition on the illicit market, regulatory constraints and changing consumer preferences. The country's like the provinces adapt their regulations as they go along to meet the primary objective of the legalizing cannabis in Canada to replace the black market with a legal sector as far as possible.