Canadians Back Cannabis As Economic Driver: 64% want federal support to help sector thrive
As Canadians grapple with the ongoing uncertainties triggered by the Trump administration’s tariff threats and potential economic fallout, there is broad recognition that our country must find new ways to expand its economy and create good-paying jobs. From coast to coast, people believe Canada must seize every opportunity to secure its economic future. Whether by reducing interprovincial trade barriers or investing in emerging industries, the political appetite for bold leadership on economic growth is stronger than ever.
A recent Abacus Data survey of 1,915 Canadian adults, conducted for leading cannabis producer Organigram Global, sought to understand just how open Canadians are to supporting and investing in the legal cannabis industry as part of this broader push for economic resilience. The timing of this poll is noteworthy, taking place in the midst of a federal election campaign where jobs and economic policy have been front and centre. With lingering anxieties about trade tensions and a general belief that Canada needs to diversify its economic drivers, we wanted to determine if the cannabis sector has the public support necessary to grow and become a major contributor to our country’s future prosperity.
Widespread Agreement on the Need for Economic Action
Before zeroing in on cannabis, our survey established the broader context: virtually everyone in Canada believes we need to find new ways of growing our economy, seize opportunities to strengthen it, and work hard to reduce or remove trade barriers between the provinces. This consensus stems in large part from the current atmosphere of economic uncertainty. Many Canadians sense a “now or never” moment—sparked by President Donald Trump’s protectionist impulses and the potential upheaval they could cause for Canadian exporters. This atmosphere has prompted calls for leadership and policy innovation that can safeguard and expand our domestic economy.
Indeed, the data confirm that Canadians see Trump’s threats as a wake-up call for politicians of all stripes. A significant majority—well over 80%—believe that in response to U.S. trade risks, Canada should take steps to bolster our domestic economic capacity, including removing internal barriers and generating new industry growth. The bottom line? There is a strong appetite for creative solutions that will yield good-paying jobs across the country, rather than placing all of our bets on historically dominant sectors.
Testing Openness to an Emerging Industry: Cannabis
To assess whether Canadians might support federal government support for the legal cannabis sector, we started by asking a simple question—without revealing the industry in question. We described a hypothetical Canadian industry that had contributed $40 billion to Canada’s GDP, created 80,000 new jobs in mid-sized cities over the past eight years, and had the potential to add billions more to GDP while creating hundreds of thousands of additional jobs over the next five years. Then we asked whether people would see it as a good or bad idea for the next federal government to help create the conditions for this unnamed industry to grow.
The results were overwhelming: 74% of respondents thought it would be a good idea, while only 2% felt it would be a bad idea (the remainder were unsure or neutral). This speaks volumes about Canadians’ desire to pursue any promising opportunity that drives growth, jobs, and innovation—especially given the current climate of trade tension and broader economic anxiety.
We then revealed that the industry in question was legal cannabis. Although mentioning cannabis did increase some reservations, the shift was not as significant as one might expect. In fact, 80% of Canadians continued to feel supporting this industry’s growth was “not a bad idea,” and those who believed it was a “very good idea” were twice as numerous as those who felt it was a “very bad idea.” Cannabis may still carry some stigma for a small subset of the population, but most Canadians appear open to the economic opportunities this regulated and legal industry can bring.
Current and Potential Contributions of Cannabis
Our survey also asked people a series of true/false statements to test knowledge and measure support for Canada’s cannabis industry. A key takeaway: many Canadians already recognize that a wide range of cannabis products, from dried flower to edibles and beverages, are produced and sold in Canada. However, there is less widespread awareness of the massive market potential and how substantially the cannabis sector is already contributing to regional economies. For example, in Moncton, New Brunswick, one of the largest cannabis producers in the country – Organigram Global – is a major local and regional employer—yet this fact flies under the radar for many Canadians living outside Atlantic Canada.
When asked whether Canada’s cannabis industry is currently an important contributor to our economy, 57% agreed—and only 14% disagreed. Regionally, support for the idea that cannabis is “already” contributing was notably high in Atlantic Canada, Saskatchewan/Manitoba, and Ontario, with slightly more caution in provinces like Alberta and Quebec. The poll results suggest that Canadians who are aware of the existing footprint are generally supportive of the industry’s contribution—and those who are uncertain often become more supportive once the full economic potential is clarified.
Even more tellingly, an even larger share of Canadians—62%—believe the cannabis industry “could be” an important contributor to the economy in the future. Only 13% disagree. This signals there is an appetite for the sector’s continued expansion. Again, differences by region exist but remain modest: Atlantic Canadians, for example, are particularly optimistic (71% agree it could be important), reflecting the region’s success stories in cannabis job creation.
Almost No Political Risk: Cross-Partisan and Regional Support
Beyond these high-level indicators, we wanted to test how Canadians would react if the “next federal government” were to take steps that make it easier for the legal cannabis industry to continue to create jobs and contribute to economic growth. The most recent data indicate that 64% of Canadians are open to such actions—18% say they would be “excited” and another 46% would be “okay with it.” Only 22% would object (14% “not be okay with it,” and 7% “be very angry about it”), while 15% remain unsure.
Strikingly, this openness holds across every region of the country. In Atlantic Canada, 72% would either be excited or okay with it, the highest figure nationally. In Ontario, 69% are open; in British Columbia, 65%; and in Saskatchewan/Manitoba, 62%. Alberta and Quebec, where support is somewhat more tempered, still see 59% and 55% openness respectively—a majority in each case.
This warmth toward government support of the cannabis industry also spans the political spectrum. Among people intending to vote Liberal, 68% express openness. Among Conservatives, 64% are open, while 27% object. NDP supporters register 70% in favour, and Green Party supporters climb to 73%. Even among Bloc Québécois supporters, 51% say they’d be excited or okay with the idea—a plurality, despite the relatively high 30% unsure in Quebec. Across the board, the pattern is clear: championing the cannabis industry is unlikely to alienate a significant portion of any party’s voter base.
These findings run counter to the conventional wisdom that cannabis might be a politically risky topic, especially among more conservative or cautious voters. The data show that, in every major demographic group, more people are open than opposed to seeing the sector grow—with a fairly sizable proportion simply waiting to learn more.
Social License for Growth—and an Untapped Opportunity
What does all of this mean as Canadians head to the polls to choose a federal government? First, it underscores the remarkably broad-based support—and, in fact, more intense support than opposition—for efforts to strengthen the legal cannabis sector. Given ongoing challenges with global trade and the unpredictability of the current U.S. administration, building up a high-growth industry like cannabis could be a prudent strategy for insulating our economy from external shocks.
Second, because support transcends regional and partisan lines, there is relatively low political risk for any party or politician who wants to champion cannabis-friendly policies. Whether you’re campaigning in downtown Vancouver, rural Ontario, or Atlantic Canada, pushing for responsible regulatory reforms or investment incentives for the cannabis sector is unlikely to provoke significant blowback. On the contrary, the data suggest that more than half of voters in every region and within every party’s base would be comfortable or even excited to see the industry continue to expand.
In practical terms, this could translate into further efforts to remove interprovincial barriers on cannabis sales, reform the excise taxation framework, standardize regulations, and encourage investment in research and development. Governments can offer competitive tax or financing programs aimed at cannabis entrepreneurs—particularly in areas hard hit by economic downturns in traditional sectors. Doing so would help expand cultivation, processing, retail, and spinoff opportunities in communities seeking to diversify their economic base.
The Upshot
The results of this survey point to a clear social license for growth: most Canadians either already see the cannabis industry as a valid economic contributor or believe it could play a significant role in bolstering our country’s future. Among those aware of how cannabis companies are revitalizing certain regions, support can be even stronger.
As we approach the final days of a federal election marked by intense discussion of job creation and economic resilience, it would be a mistake for any leader to overlook the potential of the cannabis sector. Canadians from different regions and political stripes largely agree that if cannabis can offer jobs, investment, and tax revenue—without compromising health and safety—it makes sense to help it flourish. In a time of global uncertainty, harnessing this homegrown industry might just be one of the smarter bets we can make.
METHODOLOGY
The survey was conducted with 1,915 Canadian adults from April 3 to 8, 2025. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source.
The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.34%, 19 times out of 20.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region.
This survey was paid for by Organigram Global.
Abacus Data follows the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements that can be found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/
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