Top Takeaways:
- SQDC will launch two vape devices and 30 cartridges across stores and online starting late November.
- Mercanto Holdings and Cannara Biotech announced preliminary approvals for multiple vape SKUs.
- A 2024 survey found 25% of Quebec cannabis users were already sourcing vapes from illicit or out-of-province suppliers.
Quebec will permit the sale of cannabis vape products for the first time later this year, signaling a major policy shift in Canada’s second most populous province and creating a new growth opportunity for licensed producers.
The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) confirmed that vape cartridges and devices will arrive on shelves in late November or early December. The government-run retailer said it will initially carry two vaping devices and 25 cartridges in stores, with an additional five SKUs available through its online portal. Product submissions were selected from roughly 270 proposals received during a 2024 industry call.
All products must adhere to Quebec’s strict 30% THC limit on cannabis items, and no extra flavors are allowed beyond naturally occurring cannabis-derived terpenes.
Two producers have already announced approvals. Mercanto Holdings Inc. said in July it had received preliminary clearance for three vape SKUs. “This is an important stepping stone for Mercanto and the culmination of our experience in Quebec,” CEO Eric Ronsse said, calling vape cartridges “the last true gold rush in Canadian cannabis.”
Cannara Biotech Inc. also received initial approval to sell five vape cartridges across all 107 stores in Quebec and online. “We are incredibly proud to announce our preliminary approval of five live resin and live rosin vape cartridges,” said President & CEO Zohar Krivorot.
CFO Nicholas Sosiak added that Cannara, Canada’s leading premium live resin vape brand, was eager to finally compete in its home province, “the last major province to allow vape cartridges.”
The launch follows a year after SQDC first announced plans to authorize vapes, citing the need to provide regulated options for products already circulating through illegal channels. A 2024 survey by the Institut de la statistique du Québec revealed that 25% of cannabis consumers in the province were already using vape products despite the ban, obtaining them from out-of-province retailers, friends, or underground sources.
Quebec’s reversal follows Newfoundland and Labrador, which lifted its own vape ban in 2022. Prince Edward Island continues to prohibit vape sales and has said it does not plan to change course.
Cannabis vapes are among the fastest-growing categories in Canada, trailing only dried flower.
