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Albertans purchased nearly $200 million worth of legal pot in the first 11 months of legalization, making it the biggest per capita consumer among larger provinces.

Statistics Canada figures released Wednesday show Albertans bought $196 million worth of cannabis from privately operated stores and a government-run website from October 2018 to September 2019.

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That represents 22 per cent of national sales of $908 million in a province that makes up just 12 per cent of Canada’s population.

The only province with bigger dollar sales was Ontario with $217 million, but that came from a population more than three times that of Alberta.

Albertans spent on average $45 per person on legal cannabis during that time, compared to $15 in Ontario, $23 in Quebec and just $10 in B.C.

Much of that disparity is due to the greater profusion of brick-and-mortar retail outlets in Alberta than in any other province, including more populous B.C., Quebec and Ontario, said Statistics Canada.