Cannabis sales fire up Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries profit

Seven years after recreational cannabis was legalized, sales are flying high at 229 stores in Manitoba and the growth in revenue has outpaced booze and gambling at Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries.

The provincial Crown corporation’s cannabis revenues for 2024-25 increased by $16.4 million (10.7 per cent) to $170 million, up from $153 million the previous year.

Liquor sales barely grew, increasing less than two per cent, but remain the biggest money maker for the Crown corporation, pulling in $887 million, the MLL annual report says.

Casinos were the third-biggest revenue generator, at $257 million — an $11 million (4.5 per cent) increase over the previous year.

Overall, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries delivered $730.1 million in profit to the provincial government to help fund programs and services.

Steady growth in cannabis revenue is the result of the growing number of retail stores, the report says. As of March 31, there were 229 in Manitoba, with 32 stores opened and eight closed during that fiscal year.

A veteran of the budding cannabis industry says the seven years after the sale of recreational weed was legalized on Oct. 17, 2018, have seen rapid change and growing pains.

“It’s gone by so fast: there’s been so many different things that have improved,” said Stacie Rasmussen, who manages four locally owned cannabis stores in southern Manitoba.

Liquor and Lotteries’ annual report says its roster of in-province private cannabis distribution partners with warehousing and logistics experience have improved delivery services to small, rural, and remote retailers.

Rasmussen got her start in the industry in Winnipeg as a licensed nutritionist, who was hired by the now-defunct Delta 9 Cannabis Store as a cannabis specialist, and was there for its 2018 opening day.

She recalls the early days in the industry as it tried to scale up to industrial-size growing operations. Horticultural school graduates struggled to produce a good product. “They didn’t know what they were doing,” said Rasmussen, whose boyfriend is a grower.

“It’s come a very, very long way, with smaller grows, smaller rooms,” she said.

Licensed producers do all the packaging, labelling, marketing and buying from small “legacy growers” in the legal market across Canada, Rasmussen said.

“These are people who grow in seed cans in their basements and sheds outside that are regulated and clean and growing really well,” she said, adding they were frustrated because millions of dollars were needed to get into the market.

“They’ve worked so hard and these are the guys who brought us all the strains we’re smoking today — the guys who risked jail time,” she said, adding she’s happy with the quality of the product.

Packaging has also improved, from the “big, huge square cans” that another defunct licensed producer started out with to air-tight pouches today.

“It’s amazing,” said Rasmussen, who’s seen the industry grow on rural Manitobans, too. When she left her city job in 2021 to work as a district manager for Rural Buds Cannabis Shop, she said she wasn’t sure what to expect after some municipalities stopped retailers from setting up shop in their communities.

“We have not had a single issue,” said Rasmussen, who manages stores in Carman, St. Adolphe, St. Pierre-Jolys and Morris.

“Our communities seem to love us because we’re community-owned,” she said. “We donate to and sponsor as many things in the community as we can.” They’ve entered prize-winning floats in summer parades. Customer service “bud tenders” portrayed stoner comedians Cheech and Chong sitting on a couch shrouded in smoke coming from a fog machine. Another float featured a giant bubbling water pipe, or bong.

“We’re deeply entrenched in our communities,” said Rasmussen, noting a fifth store is preparing to open in Notre Dame de Lourdes.

The majority of customers are in their 30s and 40s; dried cannabis flowers are the biggest seller at the stores she manages.

“People still like to do bong rips, I guess,” said Rasmussen. “People roll their own joints, and pre-rolls are a big one.”

Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries’ annual report says dried flower sales accounted for nearly $99 million (58 per cent) of all cannabis sales, followed by extracts ($59 million), and edibles ($10 million).

Rasmussen said she’s excited to see what’s next for Manitoba’s cannabis industry, and if the province may relax strict rules about where it can be consumed.

“Maybe we’ll get some consumption lounges,” she said. “That would be cool — to try out some different cannabis products in a cafe,” she said. “It’s happening in other provinces.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

MBLL Annual Report 24-25