Cannabis tax adds $5.4B to federal, provincial coffers
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OTTAWA — Ottawa and the provinces raked in more than $5.4 billion in cannabis tax revenue since the drug was legalized for recreational use in October 2018.
The federal government has collected $1.2 billion, with the remaining $4.2 billion going to provincial coffers.
Ontario took in the greatest provincial share of revenue — $1.5 billion — with Alberta coming in second at just over $1 billion, despite having less than a third of Ontario’s population. Alberta collected the most per capita tax revenue of any province since recreational cannabis was legalized, pulling in about $210 per person.
In terms of per capita tax revenue, Alberta easily surpassed its nearest rivals the Northwest Territories, which collected $135.80 per person. They are followed by the Yukon at $126.35, Saskatchewan at $121.55 and Newfoundland and Labrador at $113.65.
Quebec has the lowest per capita share of recreational cannabis tax revenue, at just $55.31 per person since October 2018.
The information comes in an answer to a House of Commons order paper question from Quebec Conservative MP Luc Berthold, who asked for a breakdown of cannabis tax revenue and spending on associated prevention programs.
Federal tax revenue does fall short of the government’s original projections. In the 2018-19 budget, the government expected to see $690 million in cannabis tax revenue over the first five years of recreational legalization. Ottawa collected about $567 million by the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year.
This data does not include tax revenue from Manitoba because that province is the only one that does not take part in the federally managed cannabis taxation framework.
» The Canadian Press
The tax revenue data for 2025 is incomplete, covering April 1 to Aug. 31.
» The Canadian Press