A Meta Cannabis retail store on Yonge Street in Toronto. (CNW Group/Meta Growth)

Canadian cannabis retailers poised to merge

High Tide, Meta Growth to create biggest weed retailer

Two major Canadian cannabis sellers are poised to create the largest pot retailer in the country by revenue. Calgary retailer High Tide Inc., which operates the Canna Cabana chain of stores in three provinces, announced a merger deal Friday to take up Toronto-based Meta Growth Corp., which runs the Meta Cannabis and NewLeaf Cannabis chains. […] Read more

Plants at Delta 9 Cannabis’ indoor production facility in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Cannabis industry readies for M+A after COVID-19 boosts weed demand

Companies betting on U.S. market growth after election

Reuters — After nearly a year of next-to-no dealmaking, cannabis companies are gearing up for mergers and acquisitions (M+A) as realistic stock valuations and the prospect of U.S. legalization attract buyers to a sector that has been decimated by oversupply and other issues, executives and investors say. Profitable cannabis companies want to buy their way […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Feds proposing to expand wage subsidy program

Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian government wants to expand an emergency wage subsidy program so that all businesses suffering losses from the COVID-19 outbreak will benefit, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Friday. Morneau told a news conference that Ottawa would drop an earlier requirement stipulating that businesses needed to show a 30 per […] Read more

A view near the Canadian end of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor and Detroit and is considered one of North America’s busiest trade routes. (Steven_Kriemadis/iStock/Getty Images)

Non-essential travel limits extended at U.S. borders with Canada, Mexico

Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — Restrictions on non-essential travel at U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will be extended through Aug. 21, Canada and the United States announced Thursday. “Canada and the United States have agreed to extend the current border measures by one month until Aug. 21, and we’re going to keep working closely […] Read more


Aurora Cannabis in November 2019 opened a flagship retail store at the West Edmonton Mall, describing the 11,000-square foot shop as “both a retail cannabis store and an immersive experiential space.” (CNW Group/Aurora Cannabis Inc.)

Aurora Cannabis to shut five Canadian grows

Closures mean layoffs for 30 per cent of firm's production staff

Edmonton marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis is poised to close five of its grow sites across Canada and lay off almost a third of its production workforce. The company on Tuesday announced next steps in the “business transformation plan” it launched in February to “better align the business financially with the current realities of the cannabis […] Read more



Plants at Delta 9 Cannabis’ indoor production facility in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Legalization lifts Canada’s net farm income in 2019

Livestock receipts up, unsmokeable crop receipts lower

A significant year-over-year increase Canada booked last year in realized net farm income rests mainly on 2019’s status as the country’s first full year in the recreational cannabis market. Statistics Canada on Tuesday released full-year data on farm income, pegging Canada’s realized net farm income for 2019 at $4.9 billion — a 10.4 per cent […] Read more

EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU plans to halve pesticide use, expand organic farming

Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission said on Wednesday it planned to increase organic farming and cut agricultural chemical use to protect the environment, proposals welcomed by green groups but which farmers said would make them less flexible. Agriculture is a contributor to climate change – producing around 10 per cent of EU greenhouse […] Read more



(Jiraroj Praditcharoenkul/iStock/Getty Images)

Agri-food tech expected to be a post-pandemic growth industry

Ag, food sectors may seek out more e-commerce, labour-saving tools

Ottawa — A researcher at the University of Guelph says the COVID-19 pandemic will spark agility – particularly related to technology – in agriculture. “(The pandemic) has re-emphasized the need to get access to some of the technology that exists in other sectors and are not easily accessible in agri-food systems,” said Rozita Dara, an […] Read more