Residents in Ontario lived further from a cannabis retail store than their counterparts in other provinces, newly released federal figures suggest.

The population-weighted average distance between Canadians and the nearest legal pot shop was 34 kilometres in July, down from 66 km four months earlier, said a report published Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

With just 24 cannabis shops open across the province in July, Ontarians were living, on average, 43 km from the nearest pot store. Only residents of the territories lived farther away, on average.

P.E.I. residents lived closest to pot stores, averaging just 12 km away, the report said. Alberta, with 176 retailers up and running by July, was second at 13 km.

In London — the only Southwestern Ontario winner in the province’s first pot store licence lottery early this year — there were three brick-and-mortar outlets within its 429 square kilometre footprint in July.

Population-weighted average figures were not available for London, making a hard comparison impossible, but rough map work suggests most city residents live within 15 km of a pot shop.

Cannabis sales since legalization in October 2018 until September totalled $908 million — about one-quarter of that in Ontario alone — via more than 400 outlets and online, the federal number-cruncher said.

“While online cannabis retail ensures access to all Canadians regardless of proximity to a physical store, accessibility continues to improve as more stores open across the county,” the 11-page StatsCan report concludes.

In Ontario, recreational cannabis can be sold legally only by stores approved by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), the provincial pot regulator, and by the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), the government-run online delivery service.

Ontario’s government has drawn fire for not allowing enough stores to open, awarding retail licences by lottery and for making the OCS the wholesaler of pot. Critics blame the lack of cannabis stores, and high pot prices, for fuelling a black market that has continued to thrive since Ottawa legalized the drug’s recreational use more than a year ago.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently pledged to open up the licensing system in 2020, but hasn’t offered more details.

The AGCO, meanwhile, is in the process of licensing an additional 50 stores, including one more in London and one in Windsor.

London entrepreneur Kirk Anastasiadis’ plan to open a cannabis retail store at 545 Ouellette Ave. in Windsor faces opposition from the city over its proximity to an elementary school and a centre for mental-health services.