Leafly Canada’s inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards

2019 was a year of firsts for cannabis in Canada.

The country’s first full year of legal weed following nationwide legalization in October 2018 was undeniably rocky—from limited product selection and high prices, to poor stock performance, supply shortages, and regulatory woes; the list of grievances is long. And while there’s plenty of room to improve, we’re still celebrating. After all, weed is legal—at last!

The inaugural Leafly Readers’ Choice Awards recognizes the products, places, and people that put Canadian cannabis consumers in a celebratory mood in 2019, as voted by you, Leafly readers.

Leafly Canada Readers’ Choice Awards

Considerations and distinctions

We opened polling from late November into early December 2019. Voting was open to cannabis consumers across the country, and included every product available on the legal market at the time.

For us here at Leafly, this exercise was a chance to take stock of the current state of cannabis in Canada, which at the time of voting included more than 360 types of flower, over 150 prerolls, and 105 types of oil—not to mention nearly 600 licensed cannabis retailers across the country.

With so many products represented we found that in some categories, voting was so divided, and no clear frontrunner emerged. Complicating matters further, product selection differs drastically between provinces and not all brands were equally represented across the country, which likely skewed voting towards the most abundant products and brands.

In the time since voting wrapped, a new wave of previously unavailable products types (edibles, extracts, and topicals) have started trickling onto the market. Meanwhile in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, the government has indicated an accelerated retail rollout in the year to come.

The second-annual Leafly Readers’ Choice Awards will likely look very different as we continue to refine our categories and processes to best serve our fellow cannabis consumers, you.

The year ahead is full of promise and we welcome it. For now, it’s with great pleasure that we present you with the results of the inaugural Leafly Readers’ Choice Awards.

Leafly Canada Staff

Leafly Canada is based in Toronto, with correspondents and contributors stretching from Newfoundland to BC. To reach our editorial staff please contact us at info@leafly.com.