MONTRÉAL, June 10, 2026 /CNW/ - For its fiscal year ended March 28, 2026, the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) reported total sales of $809.5 million, compared with $741.5 million for the preceding fiscal year, resulting in net income of $132.4 million versus $118.1 million in fiscal 2024-2025. To this can be added the government revenues generated by the company's operations in the form of consumer and excise taxes, estimated at $278.8 million, with $198.9 million going to Québec and $79.9 million to the federal government. All told, the SQDC is contributing a total of $331.3 million to the Québec treasury.
The $132.4 million dividend and the Québec portion of the excise tax are remitted in full to the Ministre des Finances du Québec. A total of $250.6 million will thus be transferred to the Fonds de lutte contre les dépendances and earmarked primarily for cannabis-related prevention efforts and research and in countering the harmful effects of psychoactive substances.
Since 2018, when it began doing business, the SQDC has surpassed the $2 billion mark in payments made to the two levels of government, generating $2,039.3 million in total financial benefits. By law, all cannabis sold at the SQDC must be grown in Canada.
Highlights
Guided, as always, by its mission to sell cannabis with a focus on health protection, the SQDC has launched numerous initiatives to encourage users to switch to the legal, regulated market and to remain their trusted destination for buying cannabis in Québec.
Fiscal 2025-2026 is the final year of the company's Strategic Plan 2024-2026. The SQDC accordingly focused its efforts on meeting its stated commitments while also preparing for the transition to its next strategic planning cycle. Highlights of the year included the responsible sale of cannabis vaping products, beginning in November 2025, and adjusting store hours to better align them with customers' shopping habits. The company also implemented initiatives to improve its operational efficiency and optimize its organizational practices, helping to maintain a 16.9% ratio of net expenses to sales, which has remained stable since the previous fiscal year.
Overall dollar sales were up 9.2% from fiscal 2024-2025 while volume sales totalled 165,169 kg of cannabis, compared with 149,223 kg in the preceding fiscal year, a 10.7% increase. This growth is mainly attributable to the opening of six new stores and the introduction of responsible vaping product sales.
In fiscal 2025-2026, the SQDC saw an increase in the number of customer guidance interactions and processed a total of 20.5 million transactions through its 110 stores and website, compared with 18.8 million transactions in fiscal 2024-2025. The average sales price for all cannabis products combined was $5.63/g, taxes included, compared with $5.71/g last year.
In addition, the company received several accolades during the year, winning, for the third year running, the Retail Council of Canada's Molière Retail Award for the quality of French used in its customer service. The SQDC was also a finalist for the Excellence in Retailing Awards for its 90-minute delivery service and open-concept store design, and a 2026 Les Mercuriades finalist for the implementation of its integrated human resources management system.
Social responsibility
In keeping with its Sustainable Development Action Plan 2024-2028, the SQDC continued its efforts in the areas of the environment, governance and community. In fiscal 2025-2026, 66% of the company's stores had earned RECYC-QUÉBEC's ICI on recycle + attestation, and more than 32 metric tons of packaging were recovered and recycled.
Prospects
SQDC management is satisfied with the company's financial results for the fiscal year ended March 28, 2026.
The SQDC now begins implementing its Strategic Plan 2027-2029, which aims to reduce the obstacles to migrating users to the legal market and to strengthen its organizational foundations appropriately for this stage in its development. To accomplish this, it will focus primarily on updating its store network and evolving its digital environment to sustainably support its mission.
"In fiscal 2025-2026, the SQDC showed that it was able to carry out structuring projects to stay in step with customers' needs while also complying with its legal framework and adhering to its mission," said President and Chief Executive Officer Suzanne Bergeron. "One example of this is the introduction of responsible vaping product sales. Under our new Strategic Plan 2027-2029, we will continue improving access to the legal market by, among other things, optimizing the experience delivered online and in our stores and developing an evolving offer, all to remain the trusted destination of Québecers."
The Annual Report 2026 (in French; English version to be published soon) and the Strategic Plan 2027-2029 are now available on SQDC.ca.
About the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC)
The SQDC is a government corporation mandated to distribute and sell cannabis in Québec with a focus on protecting customers' health and safety. The company is committed to offering quality products and informing and advising consumers on how to minimize the health impacts of cannabis. The goal is to shrink the illegal cannabis market in Québec. The declared dividend, equal to the company's net income, is transferred to the Fonds de lutte contre les dépendances, a fund managed by the Ministère des Finances du Québec, and reinvested primarily in cannabis-related research and the prevention of harmful effects. For more information, visit SQDC.ca.
SOURCE Société québécoise du cannabis
Information: Chu Anh Pham, Public Affairs Advisor and Spokesperson, [email protected], 438 884-1693
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