As part of the 2025 Ontario budget, the Ford government is moving to ease the display restrictions governing cannabis stores in what officials say is an attempt to boost security.
Billed as an attempt to “[help] grow Ontario’s cannabis sector” and to increase “comfort, security and safety,” provincial officials said licensed retail stores will be allowed to remove front window coverings.
Licensed stores are currently required to block the visibility of store interiors, which are part of the lengthy set of operating conditions imposed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, to try to reduce exposure to younger children and teenagers.
Retail operators called on the Ontario government to ease the visibility restrictions over the past couple of years. They cited ongoing concerns with being the target of robberies.
Government staff said individual products wouldn’t be allowed to be displayed or visible from outside the storefronts.
The push to see a stronger cannabis industry in the province comes as the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), the government-run retail outlet, continues to see stagnant growth.
According to Ontario budget documents, OCS was estimated to have pulled in around $244 million in the 2024-2025 fiscal year – the same amount as the previous fiscal year. In this year and early 2026, OCS was expected to bring in $215 million.
However, cannabis tax revenue from all streams is expected to bring in $376 million. The forecast would mean $11 million more compared to 2024-2025 and $20 million more compared to 2023-2024.
Meanwhile, certain cannabis products that have at least 75 per cent of the products grown in Ontario will be eligible to be branded with a new government-designed label.
Called Ontario Grown, the badge – a green circular logo with the Ontario trillium – can be used by licensed producers.
Officials said they’re introducing the branding to “[make] it easier for retailers to identify and stock products that support Ontario’s and Canada’s economy.”
