Manitoba hikes wholesale markup on cannabis, suggests window-covering rule may change

Ian Froese · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

The terms of cannabis is rising successful Manitoba aft the province's cannabis distributor slapped a higher markup connected the products it sells to retailers — an added outgo stores are passing down to consumers, successful galore cases.

Retailers buy their cannabis products from Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, the provincially owned distributor, which charges a markup arsenic the wholesaler. That markup was nine per cent, but it accrued to 11 per cent connected June 1. 

In an April memo to stores announcing the terms hike, the Crown corp appeared to connection immoderate consolation to retailers by promising to "explore" the thought of removing a regularisation that forces cannabis stores to screen their windows. 

Liquor & Lotteries quietly made different changes to its cannabis policies recently, allowing retailers to begin selling marijuana seeds.

Customers won't announcement a important terms quality on most products after the 2 percent constituent markup increase, said Melanie Bekevich, co-owner of Mistik Cannabis on Winnipeg's Main Street. But she argues it volition hurt the industry's efforts to stamp retired the illicit market.

"We privation to beryllium capable to vie meaningfully connected pricing, as we are taxable to truthful overmuch much taxation and regulatory requirements that outgo america a important magnitude of money," she said.

The different surcharge connected cannabis is the excise taxation of $1 per gram of angiosperm (75 cents of which goes to the province, and 25 cents to the national government).

Added costs connected cannabis

Over time, taxes and surcharges person made up a greater stock of the price consumers pay, said Bekevich, who is besides vice-president of the Retail Cannabis Council of Manitoba.

As the fig of stores has multiplied since legalization successful 2018, the terms for cannabis has dropped considerably. The marketplace terms per gram has dropped from astir $10 to $5 or $6, Bekevich said, but the excise taxation remains flat.

"Certainly producers and retailers are feeling the deed the greatest," she said. "Government would not consciousness that."

She said making the excise tax a percentage would little prices for consumers, and successful crook instrumentality customers distant from the illicit market. (Manitoba initially charged a six per cent societal work fee as well, but it was aboriginal dropped.)

In the meantime, the markup summation — the archetypal successful Manitoba since legalization — is "going to load america adjacent further," Bekevich said.

Blissful Bloom, 1 of the newest entrants successful the province's cannabis market, opened in Winnipeg's Old St. Vital neighbourhood successful April.

Co-owner Brendan Swiridjuk is responding to the markup summation by absorbing the summation connected immoderate of the cheapest products helium sells, specified arsenic azygous gram pre-rolled joints and edibles, but not the remainder of his inventory.

"I've ne'er had immoderate customers oregon consumers bring thing up successful regards to the flimsy increases I have had connected definite products," helium said.

"[But] I definitely bash announcement it erstwhile I'm making acquisition orders myself, due to the fact that I'm not making small-quantity acquisition orders — these are thousands of dollars, astir times."

Window covering alteration could boost safety: owner

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries collected $12.7 cardinal successful revenues from cannabis markups successful 2023-24, the past twelvemonth successful which audited figures are available. It expects an further $3 cardinal from the markup summation successful the existent fiscal year. 

The Crown corporation hasn't accrued its markups connected astir liquor categories successful much than 15 years, but for micro producers.

Glen Simard, the curate liable for Liquor & Lotteries, said the higher markup reflects the maturation of a maturing cannabis manufacture and its publication to Manitoba's economy, but helium didn't explicate wherefore the summation is necessary.

Simard said the further revenues volition assistance the state money societal work and instrumentality enforcement programs, specified arsenic the Winnipeg Police Service's "Don't Drive High" campaign.

He said the summation brings Manitoba — with 1 of the lowest markup and taxation rates successful Canada — in enactment with different provinces.

The NDP government suggested it may borrow different signifier from elsewhere by changing its policies astir window coverings. Currently, cannabis products are prohibited from being disposable from the exterior of shops.

The April announcement to cannabis retailers said Manitoba may relax the requirements "to supply retailers much state implicit their storefronts and make a safer moving and buying environment."

Some provinces person scrapped akin rules after worries they endangered unit and led to a emergence successful crime. Alberta's regulator made a alteration successful 2022 after a "significant rise" successful robberies.

Swiridjuk said the model coverings work against the welcoming situation he's hoping to create, evidenced by the store's lime green walls and bright lights, and the usage of "blissful" successful its name.

"I want anyone from the kid who conscionable turned 19 to consciousness invited successful here, to your grandmother, to your parents," said Swiridjuk, who astatine 23 years aged was told by a cannabis authoritative helium and his concern spouse are likely Manitoba's youngest cannabis store owners.

Mistik's Bekevich believes an extremity to model coverings will improve safety. 

Her employees person utilized a panic button three times due to the fact that of issues with a customer, she said, and each time, other customers or police officers could person walked into the store oblivious to the problems wrong due to the fact that the windows were covered up.

"You tin person galore incidents that enactment radical astatine hazard and it's not disposable to the exterior," she said.