It may not always get as much attention as Ontario’s cannabis market, but Alberta is the hottest market in Canada. According to MJBizDaily’s latest analysis, there are 2.1 legal pot shops per 10,000 Albertans, the highest per capita in the country.
Are you thinking of opening your own cannabis store in Alberta? With the right strategy and careful analysis of your local market, it’s not too late. You can still carve out a piece of the pie in this highly competitive province.
How do you get started? Let’s get into the fundamental steps to start a cannabis retail business in Alberta today.
Cannabis Store Licensing and Permitting in Alberta
Alberta’s Cannabis Retail License
In Alberta, all potential cannabis stores start with a Cannabis Retail License from Alberta’s Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis department (AGLC). At the time of writing, the application takes approximately two to four months to get reviewed, and the process is broken into five distinct components.
First, all applications, key employees, and business associates undergo a thorough background check. Applicants with particular criminal histories, especially with illegal drugs before legalisation, are not permitted to run cannabis retail in Alberta.
Second, when you submit your application, there are three separate fees that are due:
- $400, which is a non-refundable application fee per location
- $700 annual licence fee
- $3000 deposit for background checks, which may change depending on the number required
Third, the municipality where you plan to open a cannabis store in Alberta, whether it’s Edmonton or Edson, has to provide you with official approval.
Fourth, there are general business requirements you’ll need to complete before launch. For example, like all businesses in Alberta, your cannabis store has to be incorporated in the province. But, you also have to have a signed lease or certificate of title, and as a cannabis business, the business must be separate from other businesses.
Finally, your physical location needs to have six distinct systems and areas in place before a licence is approved. But we’ll get into that more below.
Municipal Permits
As part of the application process, you’ll need to acquire permits from your local municipalities. This goes hand in hand with your provincial application and, technically, has to be in place before Alberta issues a licence.
Edmonton, as an example, requires cannabis stores to get a development permit, a building permit (if interior or exterior construction is required), and a business licence. In Camrose, it’s much the same: a development permit and a business licence are required.
Carefully Select a Location
As per Alberta’s laws around cannabis retail, your new store must be more than 100 metres from provincial health care facilities, schools, or reserve land.
Municipalities often have other regulations about where you can set up shop. For example, Camrose only allows retail stores in specific zones: the Central Downtown Land Use District, Highway Commercial Land Use District, and the General Industrial District.
Calgary takes a more nuanced approach. The city specifically focuses on the concentration of cannabis stores in communities “to avoid the potential for negative perceptions that may be created about a community when there is an over concentration or clustering of Cannabis Stores along a main street or in a community,” among other concerns.
As a final location consideration, as per the AGLC, you’ll need to have the following separate areas and systems installed before licence:
- A point-of-sale area
- A shipping/receiving area that is separate from other businesses
- A secure storage area
- An alarm system
- A video surveillance system
- A secure product display
Prepare for Open with Daily Operation Systems
In today’s cannabis economy, one of the keys to success is maintaining lean operational expenses. During the planning phase of your cannabis store — and well before launch — that means locking in business administration tools that help you operate a tight ship.
Let us help you cut down on OpEx with an all-in-one system that manages sales, inventory, compliance reporting, staff scheduling, and more. TechPOS is an omnichannel solution for cannabis retailers in Alberta, to ensure you spend more time selling and less time crunching numbers, manually tracking inventory, and filing reports.
Plus, we are experts in Alberta’s cannabis landscape. We’ve been here from the start and know what works and what doesn’t. Let us guide you through the setup and get you to launch day. The TechPOS team is here to help.
Are You Ready to Open a Cannabis Store in AB?
Alberta may boast the most cannabis stores per capita in the country. However, outside the major cities of Edmonton and Alberta, there are still substantial opportunities to be had for new pot shops.
Based on our experience, you’ll want to focus on three areas to succeed: Carefully select a location, work closely with your local municipality, and plan for lean OpEx — at least in the early days.
With thorough planning, paired with defining market differentiators, you can win over your local customers. Long-term loyalty translates into long-term success.
Interested in an all-in-one business solution that is already working for cannabis stores in Alberta? Schedule a demo with TechPOS Today.
