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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

The S&P/TSX Cannabis Index added a fraction to 37.07, while the CSE Composite Index lost 12.84 to 248.91. Canadian cannabis sales climbed to a record $394.8-million in July, according to data released this morning by Statistics Canada. This was up from sales of $377.9-million in June, the previous monthly record, and up from $335.1-million in July of last year.

Canada's latest market, Ontario, accounted for two-fifths of the total, with July sales of $159.4-million. This represented a year-over-year increase of 30 per cent, markedly above the nationwide increase of 17 per cent. The outsized jump reflects a rapid rise in the province's store count starting in early 2021. As of July, there were nearly 1,500 cannabis stores in Ontario, up from 1,000 a year earlier (and from just 100 in July, 2020).

The green rush has slowed to a relative trickle this year, amid rising concern that Ontario -- or at least the parts of it that retailers are drawn to -- cannot support so many stores. The trend is especially prominent in Toronto, home to over 400 of the province's current store count of 1,614. "Toronto's pot shop reckoning is here -- industry watchers predict up to a third of our stores will close," blared the Toronto Star on Sept. 3. Meanwhile, some previously planned stores will simply not open: Data from the Ontario regulator show that 31 would-be stores in the Greater Toronto Area have cancelled their applications this year (January through August), compared with just three in all of 2021.

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