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Look at Canopy, for example. Canopy, alongside Delta 9, will be making sales in Manitoba. Canopy is also guaranteed four locations in Newfoundland and Labrador. In theory, if Canopy applied for, met the mandatory requirements, and somehow won licenses across all 32 cities and municipalities in Saskatchewan, Canopy would have an enormous market share of retail across the country. For Canopy however, British Columbia may be an interesting province. Private cannabis retailers in B.C. with a close association to a licensed producer will be prohibited from selling any of that licensed producer’s products in store. This is with the stated intention of the provincial government to ensure diversity in the market and to avoid monopolization by certain LPs. Given this, Canopy may not be applying to open up retail in British Columbia, as they would not be able to sell their own products in store, which would directly assist their competition, affect their use of branding, in addition to other considerations.
It is interesting to anticipate what the market will look like after all of the retail licenses are given out. Many wonder if private retail will really allow smaller players to have a presence in the cannabis industry or if the Canopys of the industry will have the lion’s share of the market.