Ontario just hit 2,000 licensed dispensaries — is the market oversaturated?
Started by Amir · Feb 14, 2026 · 3 replies
Saw the latest AGCO numbers and Ontario now has over 2,000 licensed cannabis stores. That's wild considering there were like 50 in 2019.
On one hand, competition is great for consumers — prices have dropped a lot. But I'm seeing stores close left and right in Toronto and Ottawa. Some of my favourite shops couldn't keep up.
What do you all think? Is this sustainable or are we headed for a massive correction? Any dispensary owners here who can share what it's actually like running a shop right now?
It's 100% oversaturated in the GTA. There are literally 3 dispensaries on the same block near me in Kensington. Two of them are always empty.
But go to smaller towns and it's a different story — some places still only have 1-2 options. I think the correction is coming but it'll mostly hit Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton.
I managed a dispensary in Barrie for 2 years. We closed last month. The margins are absolutely brutal — between excise tax, provincial markup, and rent, you're looking at maybe 15-20% gross margin on most products. That's before payroll, utilities, insurance...
The stores that survive are the ones with either amazing locations or really strong community following. Everyone else is bleeding.
meanwhile in alberta we've had way more stores per capita than ontario for years and somehow it works better. i think the AGCO lottery system at the start really messed things up — created this gold rush mentality where everyone opened a store at once