Canada’s cannabis market continues to grow — not just in size, but in consumer sophistication. With total sales hitting $5.2 billion and more than 21 million packaged units sold, the market is maturing — and consumers are increasingly buying for effects, convenience, and experience.
This report breaks down key market segments, trendlines, and growth opportunities — integrating data from Statistics Canada, Health Canada, and the U.S. cannabis market for comparative forecasting.
💰 Sales & Unit Volume Snapshot
| Product Type | % of Sales | $ Estimated | Units Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dried Cannabis | 61.3% | $3.19 B | 10.8 M units (51% of total) |
| Inhaled Extracts | 29.3% | $1.52 B | 5.0 M units (24%) |
| Solid Edibles | 4.3% | $224 M | 5.2 M units (25%) |
| Ingested Extracts | 3.1% | $161 M | Included above |
| Beverages | 1.6% | $83 M | Counted within edibles |
| Other Products | 0.4% | $21 M | Topicals, seeds, etc. |
🌬️ Extracts: Vape Pens and Concentrates Surge
Inhaled cannabis extracts — which include vape pens, hash, rosin, wax, and shatter — remain the fastest-growing category in Canada, rising +31.4% YoY. These products offer potent, fast-acting effects and discreet use, making them popular among daily and recreational users alike.
In the U.S., vape carts and concentrates already account for over 42% of total sales combined. Canada’s trajectory points in the same direction.
🌾 Dried Cannabis: Pre-Rolls Rise as Flower Stalls
“Dried cannabis” includes both loose flower and pre-rolls, which show very different trajectories:
- Loose flower is declining in both Canada (-10%) and the U.S. (-16%).
- Pre-rolls are booming — +38% YoY growth in Canada, +12% in the U.S.
Why pre-rolls are winning:
- 📦 Convenience – no grinder or rolling skills needed
- 💨 Consistent dosing – great for new users and tourists
- 🌿 Premium formats – live resin, kief, and hash-infused options
Expect dried flower’s dominance to continue declining, while pre-rolls gain share.
🍬 Edibles: Strong Demand, Regulatory Bottlenecks
Edibles are a growing segment, making up 25% of packaged units sold, but only 4.3% of total cannabis revenue. This is largely due to Canada’s strict THC limits (10mg per package), which curb repeat purchases and average cart value.
By contrast, the U.S. allows 100mg+ packages in many states, and edibles represent 7.36% of total cannabis spending there. In Canada, the limitations force brands to get creative — with the type of extracts they use, minor cannabinoids (CBN, CBG), and fast-acting nano edibles gaining traction.
Despite the constraints, Canadian consumers are clearly interested — and regulatory reform could unlock much greater growth.
📉 Growth Snapshot: Canada vs. U.S. (YoY Sales Trends)
| Category | Canada YoY | U.S. YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Beverage | 0% | +3% |
| Capsules | -16% | -4% |
| Concentrates | -14% | +10% |
| Edibles | +22% | +10% |
| Flower | -10% | -16% |
| Oil | +19% | +5% |
| Pre-rolls | +38% | +12% |
| Tinctures | -54% | -26% |
| Topicals | -20% | -8% |
| Vapor Pens | +11% | +8% |
👤 What Consumers Want Now
- 🎯 Effects-based shopping: sleep, focus, social
- 📦 Ready-to-use: vapes, pre-rolls, capsules
- 🧪 Minor cannabinoids: CBN, CBG, 1:1 ratios
💸 Government Revenue & Domestic Advantage
- Canada earned $68 per person from cannabis
- Almost all cannabis sold is domestically produced
🔮 Looking Ahead
- 📈 More pre-roll innovation (infused, multi-strain)
- 📉 Continued flower market erosion
- 📜 Pressure to reform edible dosage limits
- 🎯 Shift toward functional, premium, discreet formats
✅ Final Thoughts
The Canadian cannabis market is at a turning point. With $5.2 billion in sales and over 21 million packaged units sold in 2023–2024, consumer preferences are clearly shifting. While dried flower continues to dominate the numbers, it’s losing ground to more convenient, innovative, and experience-driven formats like vape pens, pre-rolls, and live resin edibles.
Pre-rolls are rapidly rising as a top choice for convenience and consistency, while vapes and inhaled extracts continue to see double-digit growth thanks to their potency and discretion. Meanwhile, edibles remain under-leveraged in Canada due to the 10 mg THC limit, yet their unit sales and YoY growth show that demand is strong — and likely to explode if regulations ease.
Looking ahead, we expect the market to follow the U.S. trend toward format diversity, effect-based products, and minor cannabinoid formulations. Brands that focus on innovation, user experience, and regulatory compliance will be best positioned to lead in Canada’s next phase of growth.
In short, the cannabis consumer is evolving — and the market must evolve with them.