Canada’s regulated marijuana industry contributed $10.9 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in October, according to newly released data.
While that total edged down slightly from September’s $11 billion mark, it remained far above the $9.3 billion reported one year earlier, highlighting the sector’s broader upward trajectory and marking a 17% increase.
Growth over the past year has been driven overwhelmingly by licensed production, which generated roughly $10 billion in GDP contribution. Although production slipped 1.1% compared to the previous month, it was still up 19.4% year over year. Licensed retail activity accounted for about $930 million, declining 1.9% month to month but increasing 2.8% compared to October 2024.
After a period of slower momentum in 2023 and early 2024, the licensed marijuana industry has steadily expanded its share of Canada’s overall economic output throughout 2025. Production has remained the backbone of that growth, consistently outpacing retail and reinforcing its position as the dominant force within the legal market.
The contrast with the unlicensed sector has become more pronounced over time. Since adult-use legalization, the unregulated market’s contribution to GDP has generally trended downward. While licensed and unlicensed retail activity remained relatively close for several years, licensed retailers did not clearly pull ahead on a consistent basis until 2024. Licensed production, by comparison, overtook unlicensed production much earlier and has maintained a wide gap ever since. Some limited unlicensed growth was recorded in 2025, but it remains secondary to the regulated industry.
Consumer spending patterns reinforce the long-term expansion of the legal market. Household final consumption expenditures on marijuana reached $1.591 billion in the third quarter of 2025, just below the prior quarter’s high and nearly double the $821 million recorded in the same quarter of 2020. Medical marijuana spending totaled $115 million during the quarter, slightly lower than the previous three months but higher than a year earlier.
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