Indiva, London’s first medical-cannabis producer, has been granted a federal licence and is already looking ahead to opening a retail store in the city.

In anticipation of receiving its licence from Health Canada, Indiva began construction of a major expansion of its plant in an industrial park in south London.

Indiva, London’s first medical-cannabis producer, has been granted a federal licence and is already looking ahead to opening a retail store in the city.

In anticipation of receiving its licence from Health Canada, Indiva began construction of a major expansion of its plant in an industrial park in south London.

ndiva CEO Niel Marotta said the company should be sending out it first orders to patients through its website later this year.

Shares of Canada’s cannabis companies fell sharply on Tuesday morning as investors reacted to news that Ontario will initially limit sales of the drug when it becomes legal on Oct. 17.

Ontario had previously planned to open government-run stores in October. The new Doug Ford government, however, has decided to allow the private sector to operate stores but not until next spring. The government does plan to sell cannabis online starting in October.

The delayed opening of Canada’s largest market for cannabis is a blow for the industry. Investors sent stocks lower on Tuesday. Canopy Growth Corp., the most prominent name in the industry whose ticker is WEED, led the declines.

Long before reports came out suggesting that Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government would turn to a private-retail model for cannabis sales, two eastern Ontario communities had hitched their wagons to the budding industry.

We don’t yet know much about the government’s plans, but we do know one thing for certain: legal cannabis is coming, and it will create economic winners and losers throughout the province.

The City of Toronto and much of Ontario is bracing for more complications with only 70 days left before cannabis is set to be legal across Canada.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford the Ontario Progressive Conservatives are sending strong signals that legal cannabis will be sold by private retailers rather than being sold by the Ontario Cannabis Store, as originally decided by the Ontario Liberal government.

The OCS initially planned to open 40 retail shops across Ontario, with 150 planned to be opened by the end of 2020. The locations were to be determined by the province with input from municipalities.

Five years ago, Yahoo Canada News did a series on the dying small towns of Canada. The stagnation was largely blamed on the exit of one industry or another from many of the places visited. One of the towns featured in that series was Smiths Falls, Ont., struggling to recover from the exit of chocolate maker Hershey’s in 2007. At the time, residents said tourism was the answer to the town’s economic woes. Little did they know the industry that would breath life back into Smiths Falls was cannabis.

Medical marijuana producer Aphria Inc. says its revenues surged in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year but its net loss nearly doubled as it expands in preparation for Canada legalizing recreational cannabis use in October.

The Leamington, Ont.-based company's net loss nearly doubled to $5 million from $2.6 million in the prior year on higher compensation, costs associated with Aphria International and losses in its investment portfolio, partially offset by increased gross profit.

The company has been busy raising money and making acquisition deals, including its February purchase of B.C.-based Broken Coast Cannabis Inc., a transaction valued at more than $200-million in stock and cash.

Strainprint Technologies Ltd. (Strainprint™) – the leader in cannabis strain data and analytics – is excited to announce the addition of two key senior team members: Michelle Arbus, Vice President of Research & Insights, and Noah Kauffman, Director of Sales.  

Ontario will have a cannabis retail system open for business when recreational marijuana is legalized across the country in less than three months, says Finance Minister Vic Fedeli.

“We are going to be operational by Oct. 17,” Fedeli said Monday as questions swirled about how the province will sell weed following reports private retailers are being tapped instead of the government stores planned by the previous Liberal administration.

In one day last week, two notable political balloons were floated in Canadian politics: In Toronto, Doug Ford’s new Tory government in Ontario is planning to let cannabis be sold at private stores and, in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau is considering banning handguns.

A year of culture wars is coming to Canadian politics.

Mr. Ford has come to power itching to set out markers that symbolize his kind of populist conservatism, and Mr. Trudeau, gearing up his bid for re-election next year, is looking to sharpen his identity as a progressive leader.

The two govern the two largest jurisdictions in this country, making each, effectively, the leading government figure in their respective parties. And each is set on signaling their own brand of virtue.