Cannabis trade group urges retained Canadian prime minister to change policies

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With Mark Carney retaining his role as Canada’s prime minister, the Cannabis Council of Canada is calling on the Liberal government to implement policy changes to ensure the country’s marijuana industry continues to grow.

Carney, a former central banker, initially was sworn in March 9 to replace Justin Trudeau, a cannabis proponent who resigned as prime minister on Jan. 6.

Canadian voters went to the polls Monday to decide whether to give Carney a full term as prime minister or elect Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Carney won, but in question was whether voters would give his Liberals a majority or minority mandate.

According to The (Montreal) Gazette, “A majority government would allow the Liberals to pass legislation without the support of other parties. If the final result remains a minority, the Liberals would need help to pursue their agenda.”

‘Federal government has failed this industry’

Canada’s cannabis industry wasted no time trying to get on Carney’s agenda.

“Canada likes to position itself as a global leader in legal cannabis – but since legalization in 2018, the federal government has failed this industry and the tens of thousands of hardworking Canadians it supports,” Cannabis Council of Canada (CCC) President Paul McCarthy said in a statement Tuesday.

“With a new government in office, it’s time for action. The cannabis industry deserves the same attention and support as any sector of our economy.”

The price of cannabis in Canada has dropped from about $10 per gram in 2018 – after the nation legalized the world’s first recreational market with Trudeau’s support – to $3 per gram today, according to a Tuesday news release from the CCC.

Changes Canada’s cannabis industry wants to see

The CCC is calling on the government to:

Adjust the excise tax, which is the greater of 10% of the product’s value or $1 per gram.
Eliminate the $1-per-gram floor and replace it with a 10% ad valorem rate proposed last year by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. Ad valorem means 10% of the value of a transaction.
Work with individual provinces to develop a single national cannabis excise stamp. “The cannabis excise stamp is a regulatory tool indicating tax compliance – which the legal industry supports,” the release noted. Currently, each province and territory has a unique cannabis excise stamp, which adds “costs and complexity for legal producers distributing products nationwide.”
Crack down on the illicit market and launch a public awareness and education campaign on the dangers of supporting illegal operators.

The illicit market represents an estimated 25%-40% of total sales in Canada, according to the CCC, which contends many consumers are unaware they are purchasing illegal products and don’t know they can be harmful.

According to recent government laboratory tests, 94% of illegal cannabis products in Canada contain pesticides.

Since Canada legalized recreational cannabis, the industry has contributed more than $43 billion to the national gross domestic product, including about $7.4 billion in 2024, the CCC noted in its release.