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   Canadian cannabis sales reach all-time high in April   
      
   Retail sales top more than $372 million countrywide.   
   Author of the article: Sam Riches   
      
   Publishing date: Jun 23, 2022  - Last Updated June 23, 2022  -  2 minute read   
      
   Canadian retail cannabis sales set a new monthly record sales   
   record in April, reaching $372.4 million.   
      
   Released by Statistics Canada, the latest figures mark a near   
   four per cent increase from March, when sales were $359   
   million, and about a 15 per cent increase from February, when   
   sales dipped to $324 million, according to revised numbers from   
   the federal agency.   
      
   Ontario, now home to more than 1,500 dispensaries, led the   
   country with more than $150 million in sales. Alberta posted   
   just under $65 million in sales, while B.C. recorded slightly   
   less than $53 million to round out the top three.   
      
   B.C. and P.E.I. were the only provinces to post a month-over-   
   month decrease, with sales dipping from $56 million in B.C. in   
   March.   
      
   P.E.I., meanwhile, saw a slight reduction, recording $1.75   
   million in sales in April, down from $1.76 million in March.   
      
   Quebec posted just over $50 million in sales. The figures will   
   likely look different next month, as more than 300 union   
   members of the Soci‚t‚ qu‚b‚coise du cannabis (SQDC) began a   
   general strike in May.   
      
   Union members are calling for salaries and benefits similar to   
   those working in other comparable provincial corporations,   
   including the Quebec Liquor Corp. (SAQ).   
      
   "These SQDC workers barely earn $17/hour upon hiring and the   
   majority have no full-time position or job security, which puts   
   them in an untenable precarious position," the Canadian Union   
   of Public Employees noted in a statement last month.   
      
   A recent report from Connecticut-based data firm Cannabis   
   Benchmarks found that Quebec, where the government-owned SQDC   
   has a monopoly on recreational sales, is the country's "biggest   
   laggard" when it comes to cannabis retail.   
      
   As of April, there were 88 SQDC retail cannabis stores   
   operating in the province. The report found that the "optimal"   
   number of retail stores is more than 1,100.   
      
   The report also noted that Ontario could support nearly 500   
   more stores to reach its "optimal level."   
      
   Alberta, meanwhile, was the only province cited in the report   
   to have more cannabis stores than needed.   
      
   "We expect the number of stores in Alberta to decline over the   
   next 24 months, as competition intensifies and store economics   
   become less favourable," the report stated.   
      
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