Article content

Applications for nearly 700 cannabis stores are in the pipeline across the province, with Calgary rolling up far more of that retail bidding than Edmonton.

Those high numbers could mean many stores will open later than this fall due to regulatory delays, said one retailer.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Calgary sees over 200 cannabis store applications as total nears 700 province-wide Back to video

As of Tuesday morning, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission tallied 684 requests for individual retail locations that have been physically received, with some applicants making multiple bids, said agency spokeswoman Heather Holmen.

While that number isn’t considerably greater than anticipated, “truthfully, the numbers have been a challenge,” she said.

And because the province hasn’t set a limit on the number of applicants, just as it doesn’t for those seeking liquor retail licences, the number of prospective cannabis outlets will increase, said Holmen.

“Earlier in the process, we saw more of an influx but it’s fairly steady . . . we’ll likely get some more in the next week,” she said.