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Recreational cannabis will be sold in retail stores across the country. In some of Canada’s provinces, retail will be run by the government, and in others, by private companies. The provinces who have announced private retail, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, have also announced unique application processes to ultimately lock down a coveted retail license.
Manitoba issued a Request for Proposals, for which responses
were due at the end of December, 2017. After receiving hundreds
of responses, Manitoba would go on to issue only four retail
cannabis licenses. The coveted licenses were awarded to:
(1) a partnership between Canopy Growth Corp. and Delta 9
Cannabis Inc.; (2) National Access Cannabis and Manitoba First
Nations groups; (3) a partnership between Hiku Brands Company Ltd.
and B.O.B. Headquarters; and (4) a consortium made up of Avana
Canada, Fisher River Cree Nation, Chippewas of the Thames of
Ontario, MediPharm Labs, and Native Roots Dispensary.
Saskatchewan’s request for Proposals, for which responses were due on April 10, 2018, allowed proponents to apply for up to 32 cities or municipalities, for a maximum of one permit in each city or municipality. Responses which meet the mandatory requirements will be entered into a random lottery where the lucky applications drawn will have an opportunity to apply for a permit.
In Newfoundland and Labrador Responses to the Request for Proposals are specific to Area/Postal Code. The RFP’s allocations indicated 41 total licenses across each of the area codes. Canopy Growth Corporation is guaranteed four retail locations as part of its agreement with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Responses to the Newfoundland RFP were due March 29, 2018.