High Taxes, Domestic Saturation Pushing Canadian Cannabis To International Markets
- Canadian cannabis companies are increasingly looking to expand into overseas markets, particularly Europe, due to the saturated and highly-taxed domestic market.
- Aurora Cannabis is exiting select lower-margin Canadian consumer cannabis markets while maintaining a focus on major domestic markets like Ontario.
- In FYQ3 2026, Aurora sold more cannabis internationally ($48 million) than any other publicly-traded Canadian company, with significant medical cannabis sales in Europe ($37.1 million) and Australia/New Zealand ($10.9 million).
- While Aurora’s medical cannabis sales have grown both domestically and internationally, its sales in Canada’s non-medical recreational market have declined, reflecting broader trends in the Canadian cannabis sector.
Some Canadian cannabis companies are finding themselves looking to expand into overseas markets rather than the saturated and highly-taxed domestic market.
Despite these challenges, many also say it’s important to maintain a domestic brand, even as companies keep an eye on expanding markets overseas, especially Europe.
Notably, Aurora Cannabis, one of the largest cannabis companies in Canada, recently announced that the company would begin exiting “select markets” within the “lower-margin” Canadian consumer cannabis markets.
Aurora sold more cannabis into the international market in the last three months of 2025 (FYQ3 2026) ($48 million) than any other publicly-traded company in Canada, according to a recent market scan from research and consulting firm Zuanic & Associates.
Of Aurora’s medical cannabis sales, $37.1 million was in the European market, while Australia and New Zealand accounted for $10.9 million. The company’s sales in the medical cannabis market in Canada were $28.2 million, while sales into the non-medical retail market in Canada were just $5.2 million.
While Canadian and international medical sales have increased year-over-year for the past several quarters for Aurora, its sales into the Canadian non-medical recreational or “adult-use” market have declined significantly. This reflects larger trends in Canada, with medical cannabis registrations declining significantly since legalization.
Although this is not a complete exit from the Canadian market—the company will likely hold onto major markets like Ontario—it does signal a shifting priority, said Aurora’s CEO, Miguel Martin, during the company’s Q3 FY2026 investor call.
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