Ontario was close behind at $121.6 million. The figures come from Statistics Canada data on cannabis sales across the country from October 2018—when it was legalized—to June 2019. (The Logic)

Talking point: Alberta has just 11.6 per cent of the nation’s population, but became the top province for cannabis purchases due to its relatively quick roll-out and large quantity of retail stores. It had 17 licensed brick-and-mortar stores selling cannabis on the day of legalization. In comparison, Ontario didn’t open any until April 1. Until then, legal cannabis was only available in the province through its online store, OCS, which faced thousands of complaints in its first few weeks of operation, mainly about delivery delays and billing issues. Furthering its lead, Alberta established an effective licensing system early on. Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis (AGLC) is the only distributor of recreational pot, but anyone with a licence can open a retail location and sell AGLC cannabis—there are currently 277 licensees in Alberta. The only limit is that no one entity can hold over 15 per cent of the total licences in the province. Ontario moved to a similar system with the election of Premier Doug Ford, but it’s been slow to roll out stores; it’s awarded 67 retail-store licences and is approving another eight stores on First Nations reserves. However, it may soon overtake Alberta in sales—it’s set to open 50 more stores this fall.