Cannabis revenues for Ottawa, provinces have hit $5.4B since 2018

Ottawa and the provinces have 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 has taken 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.

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The information comes in an answer to an order paper question from Quebec Conservative MP Luc Berthold, who requested a breakdown of cannabis tax revenue and spending on associated prevention programs.

Health Canada spent about $21.6 million on education and prevention programs since recreational cannabis use was legalized, with $13 million spent in the 2018-19 fiscal year alone.

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.

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