Following cannabis legalization in Canada, alcohol sales saw modest but notable changes, offering insight into consumer behaviour and substitution effects.
$13.5 billion came from alcohol sales, showing a slight decrease of 0.5%, while recreational cannabis sales reached $2.2 billion, marking an impressive increase of 12.6%, says Statistics Canada.
Alberta will not allow alcohol sales in grocery stores, preserving the private retail model to avoid harm to small businesses and protect consumer choice.