Medical cannabis in Canada, by the numbers
Canada had a medical cannabis system years before anyone could buy it recreationally. Since adult-use legalization in 2018, that medical system has quietly shrunk. Here is what the numbers show, and why it happened. Every figure is sourced from Health Canada's registration data. Free to cite, a link back to LeafNorth is appreciated.
Last reviewed: July 2026
A system that has more than halved
Registrations with federally licensed medical sellers peaked at close to 370,000 in 2019, then fell year after year. By March 2025 the figure was 161,267, down more than half from the peak, though the decline finally appears to be levelling off.
Source: Health Canada medical cannabis registration data (figures in thousands rounded for the chart).
Why it shrank
The short answer is legalization. When any adult could buy cannabis without a doctor's authorization, the practical reasons to hold a medical registration got narrower. Many people who had used the medical stream simply started buying from adult-use stores instead. It's the same pattern as the broader shift from the older market to legal retail, just on the medical side.
Medical registration still has real advantages for some patients: it can allow a higher possession limit, support insurance or tax claims, and give access to specific products and guidance. But for a lot of people, the convenience of walking into a store won out.
Where medical clients are
Registrations are concentrated in the biggest provinces, with Ontario alone holding just over half of the national total.
| Province | Registrations (Mar 2025) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 82,483 | just over half of the national total |
| Alberta | 21,860 | |
| Quebec | 16,293 |
Source: Health Canada, client registrations with federally licensed sellers, March 2025.
Growing your own for medical use
A separate, smaller group registers to grow their own cannabis for medical purposes, either themselves or through a designated grower. That number is falling faster: it dropped 28% in just a few months, from 15,767 in December 2024 to 11,304 by March 2025.
New to all this?
Start with how the legal market works and what the wider data says.
Common questions
How many medical cannabis patients are there in Canada?
About 161,000 people were registered with federally licensed medical sellers as of March 2025, down from a peak of nearly 370,000 in 2019.
Why has medical cannabis registration declined?
Largely because of adult-use legalization. Once any adult could buy without a doctor's authorization, many people who used the medical stream simply switched to regular stores.
Is a medical cannabis registration still worth it?
It can be, for some patients. It may allow a higher possession limit, support insurance or tax claims, and give access to specific products and guidance.
Sources & notes
Every figure above comes from Health Canada's regularly published cannabis registration data, as reported below. We update this page as new data is released; always check the original source for the latest.
- Health Canada, Cannabis market data Official medical cannabis client registrations, cultivation registrations, and market figures.
- StratCann, Medical cannabis registrations stabilize in early 2025 161,267 registrations as of March 2025, the provincial breakdown, and the 28% drop in cultivation registrations.
- StratCann, Medical cannabis registrations continue to decline The long decline from the 2019 peak of nearly 370,000 registrations.
Know the rules where you live
Legal age, retail, and home-growing all change at the provincial border.