Recreational pot production poised to create 200 jobs in Leduc region this year
Three companies are seriously considering building plants to grow recreational cannabis in the Leduc region in a move that should create 200 local jobs, new research indicates.
With legalization of non-medicinal pot expected this summer, the area south of Edmonton will have an estimated 10,000 people consuming cannabis by 2023, according to a study released Thursday by the Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Association.
The report, based on Statistics Canada information and other data, predicts legal marijuana will capture more than 90 per cent of the Alberta market because the average price will be less than 25 cents a gram higher than its illegal competitors.
That translates into almost $5 million worth of legal pot production in the Leduc region this year, generating 200 full-time jobs just to supply recreational consumers, association executive director Barbara McKenzie said.
She knows of three firms looking at setting up in the area, while at least one other company says it’s also considering a Leduc location.
“Two hundred jobs is significant for a region of 70,000 people … We see that number multiplying quite substantially. It’s creating a new industry. It’s definitely creating some great economic growth for this region.”
This doesn’t include other sectors such as medicinal marijuana (the massive Aurora Sky facility beside Edmonton International Airport is expected to require 330 staff ), retail and what McKenzie sees as a big opportunity with hemp.
She’s part of a group that wants to develop a local cluster of businesses to grow, process and manufacture hemp products, as well as look at building a site within the next year similar to Leduc’s Food Processing Development Centre.
“I think we will see more growth as that evolves as an industry. There are about 80,000 products that can be made out of hemp,” she said.
“We’re working on a regional centre of excellence in Alberta, in the Leduc-Drayton ValleyBrazeau County region … for industrial hemp.”
Leduc County Coun. Kelly Vandenberghe said planning staff have heard from about a dozen potential cannabis growers, attracted partly by publicity about Aurora Sky and by the county ’s reputation for handling development applications quickly.
“When they see areas such as ours that seem to be more organized and friendly, that’s a draw.”
The report predicts Albertans will consume 74 tonnes of legal marijuana this year. That includes more than one tonne in the Leduc region, where sales are expected to reach $9.8 million.
“With Canada less than six months away from the planned legalization of cannabis for recreational use, licensed producers are rushing to try to fill what is expected to be enormous demand,” the report says.
“With the right tools, easy access to money and abundant land supply, any individual could acquire the assets and properties to start cultivating marijuana. The true barrier to entry is not a capital constraint, but the rigorous and lengthy licensing process.”