Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced last week that he plans to step down as leader of the Liberal Party amid growing internal pressure and falling approval ratings.
After nearly a decade as the country’s leader, Trudeau’s position has become untenable over the last few months, and his party is significantly behind in the polls ahead of an election that must take place this year.
He has faced calls to resign from senior members of his own party amid mounting criticism of his handling of a looming trade war with the US and his failure to bring a cost of living crisis under control.
Despite his recent political woes, Trudeau leaves behind him an important legacy, having played a pivotal role in making Canada the second country on earth to legalize adult-use cannabis.
Trudeau campaigned on a platform of cannabis legalization during the 2015 federal election, emphasizing regulation and harm reduction, and made good on these promises in his first few years in office, seeing cannabis legalized in 2018.
However, Trudeau’s cannabis legacy is not without criticism. Canada’s cannabis industry continues to grapple with a number of fundamental issues. With an early federal election looking increasingly likely, and the Conservatives leading convincingly in the polls, changes are likely on their way.
In December 2024, the incumbent administration announced that it planned to explore a new excise tax system for cannabis businesses in 2025 in welcome and long-awaited efforts to ‘cut red tape’.
In its ‘2024 Fall Economic Statement’, the federal government announced new plans to ‘explore a transition from cannabis excise duty stamps specific to each province and territory to a single, national stamp,’ an issue that has long dogged the industry.
The future of these plans is now uncertain. While the cannabis industry is thought to account for 20% of GDP from crop production, an election and new administration could force these amendments down the list of priorities or see them scrapped altogether.
The Conservative Party has historically sought stricter controls on cannabis policy, focusing on restricting medical cannabis programs and opposing home cultivation.
In 2013, they attempted to ban medical cannabis users from growing their own cannabis or designating someone to grow it, citing concerns about diversion into the illicit market. The party has also consistently opposed home grow rights, with efforts to amend the Cannabis Act to prohibit or limit cultivation narrowly defeated.
Even after legalization, Conservatives have favoured large licensed producers over small-scale or personal growers.
The Cannabis Act expanded access to the regulated supply chain, creating pathways for smaller producers with lower capital requirements. However, the resource-intensive licensing process could face cuts under a Conservative government focused on reducing bureaucracy, likely favouring larger companies while sidelining smaller operators.
Although reducing red tape might streamline some processes, the Conservatives’ resistance to cannabis reform suggests limited priority for advancing the industry, potentially leading to more challenges for smaller businesses.
The previous conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper also introduced the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) in 2013, replacing the former Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR), which had allowed patients to grow their own cannabis or designate someone to grow it on their behalf.
Effectively banning home cultivation, the decision faced significant backlash from patients and advocacy groups, many of whom argued that it limited access and affordability. The decision was later challenged in court, eventually prompting the creation of the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), which reinstated the right for patients to grow their own cannabis under specific conditions.
Some commentators point to the fact that this administration ‘introduced a regulatory system for medical cannabis that — in common-sense ways — cut red tape and ensured people had access to cannabis produced under strict quality controls.’
