Cannabis product: NAICS 3123

Overview

Ontario’s cannabis product manufacturing sector is a new, rapidly growing manufacturing industry in Ontario.

2020 Key indicators

In 2020:

• there were 66 cannabis product businesses in Ontario, which is an increase of 95.5% over the last two years ^{footnote 2[2]}
• there were over 19,000 people employed in the food and beverage sector. Employment in this sector has increased by 3,808 or 23.8% over the last five years ^{footnote 3[3]}

Ontario at a glance

Ontario is home to many small and medium enterprises.

Aurora Cannabis is a Canadian licensed cannabis producer that is dedicated to helping people improve their health, wellness and overall quality of life. Accompanied with three product brand selections under the Aurora name, users are provided with safe and affordable access to cannabis ^{footnote 116[116]}.

Canopy Growth operating under the Tweed Marijuana brand is based in Smiths Falls, Ontario. The company has 2,600 employees within its operations and has built a successful model for a transformational industry by supplying authentic brands and high-quality products that fulfill the desires and needs of users ^{footnote 117[117]}.

Tilray is a Canadian pharmaceutical and cannabis company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Tilray is Canada’s leading scientifically rigorous medical provider of cannabis ^{footnote 118[118]}.

Village Farms is one of the largest and longest-operating vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America, and the only publicly traded greenhouse produce company in Canada. They are a Quebec-based company with 120 acres in Ontario of Cannabis operations ^{footnote 119[119]}.

Highlights and investment activities

In April of 2021, Canopy Growth Corporation announced its acquisition of AV Cannabis Inc., one of Ontario’s leading cannabis brands, to further strengthen the company’s industry leading house of brands ^{footnote 120[120]}.

In May of 2021, Aphria Inc. and Tilray Inc. merged in creating the world’s largest cannabis company by revenue ^{footnote 121[121]}.

The first quarter of 2020 marked the launch of Cannabis 2.0 which includes ready-to-drink cannabis beverages, cannabis topicals, edibles, vapes and concentrates ^{footnote 122[122]}.

Trends

Trends in this sector include:

• consumers finding value in legal, regulated and tested cannabis ^{footnote 123[123]}
• most cannabis sales in Ontario remaining dried flower and pre-rolls despite the availability of a wide range of innovative cannabis products ^{footnote 123[123]}
• products, such as carbonated beverages, containing THC and CBD helping consumers manage their physical and mental health, which are two functions that are highly desirable by younger adults ^{footnote 124[124]}