Canadians are clearly in love with cannabis, but not all provinces were created equal when it comes to permitting pot. While the historic Cannabis Act applies to all provinces, the rules around distribution and consumption fall to the provinces — and municipalities have some say on it, too.

That’s why for Canada Day, The GrowthOp takes a look at the growing industry from coast-to-coast — crunching the data on price, consumption habits, number of stores, public consumption options and the ability to grow at home — to find out which provinces are rolling out the red carpet for weed and which are still warming up to the country’s second favourite leaf.

Here are our findings.

For the people in New Brunswick, cannabis is better out than in.

Indiva Limited (TSXV:NDVA) (OTCQX:NDVAF) is pleased to announce that it has secured distribution rights to ship its premium cannabis products to New Brunswick and Manitoba. These two new agreements extend Indiva’s distribution network to eight provinces. Indiva’s first shipments to Manitoba include INDIVA™ pre-rolls and THC capsules, and Bhang® Chocolate. Indiva expects that INDIVA™ and Bhang® products will be available in Manitoba stores within the next two weeks.

New Brunswick residents didn't just head home at the start of the province's state of emergency last month. They also swung by provincial liquor and cannabis outlets to stock up.

Fourth-quarter financial results released jointly for NB Liquor and Cannabis NB on Tuesday show revenue bumps that each agency said was caused by a COVID-19-generated buying spree by customers — especially for beer, wine and spirits.

"It is estimated that the impact of COVID-19 on sales during the last two weeks of the quarter was an increase of approximately 12 percent," reported NB Liquor in a release explaining its results.  

Organigram Holdings Inc. is temporarily laying off nearly half of its staff due to COVID-19, the latest such move by a Canadian cannabis producer impacted by the pandemic.

In a release late Monday, Organigram said it would temporarily reduce its workforce by 45 per cent, representing about 400 of its employees, to help contain a potential spread of COVID-19. 

"These are unprecedented and trying times," said Greg Engel, chief executive officer of Organigram, in the release. "Our priority right now is to make sound strategic decisions that are in the best interests of our people and which will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the company."

Approximately 4,000 times these past two weeks, I’ve thanked my lucky stars cannabis was legalized before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe and sent us all cowering in our bong dens.

Moncton recently played host to what is being called the first-ever consumer show where cannabis products were available for purchase on-site, albeit exclusively through Cannabis NB.

Cannabis lovers from all over New Brunswick descended upon the Moncton Coliseum this past weekend for a customer-focused, cannabis consumer event.

This event, however, had a little something extra: a government-run, cannabis pop-up shop that featured some of event partner Cannabis NB’s latest and greatest new products, such as infused edibles and beverages.

Over 2,000 people visited the Moncton Coliseum on Saturday for Canada's first cannabis consumer event featuring a provincial government-operated cannabis pop-up store.

The consumer-focused event featured interactive exhibits, educational sessions, and product sampling from some of Canada's top cannabis producers. Most of all, it was a chance for over fifteen suppliers to showcase the benefits of legal pot.

"It's a very good opportunity for the city and the province as well to become more open to the cannabis culture," says consumer, Joshua Newbury.

"If we can convert some people from the black market to the legal market, that's obviously a huge win," says Canna Island chief operating officer, Sam Murphy.

Cannabis NB launched believing low prices were not required to succeed in New Brunswick but after consumers taught it a hard lesson on that point, the Crown corporation has adopted a different approach — aggressive price discounting.

And it appears to be working.

Last week Statistics Canada reported legal cannabis sales in New Brunswick in December were $4.1 million, an 18.4 per cent improvement over November. It's the fourth straight monthly increase in sales in New Brunswick, where per capita purchases at government cannabis outlets have overtaken those in Nova Scotia.

In January Cannabis NB's Tom Tremblay credited lower prices - which the agency initially dismissed as unimportant - for much of the improvement.