How Ontario’s cannabis retail system works

Ontario’s cannabis retail system separates regulation from wholesale supply. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) licenses eligible retail store operators and managers, authorizes individual stores and regulates sales at authorized locations. The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is the province’s wholesale supplier. Each agency has a different role.

Operators and locations are separate checks

The AGCO framework includes a retail operator licence and a store authorization. A licence associated with an operator is not a substitute for checking the specific location. The AGCO’s public map identifies stores that are authorized, have an application in progress or have been cancelled. Those are distinct statuses; do not describe an in-progress or cancelled record as an authorized store.

What a directory can establish

A third-party directory can show what its editor checked and when, but it does not issue an authorization or guarantee that a business is open. This build matched 64 distinct Ottawa addresses to the AGCO map’s “Authorized to Open” layer on 2026-10-25. The status does not confirm current business operation, and absence from the directory says nothing about a location’s regulatory status.

Use official records

Start with the AGCO’s cannabis retail stores map and its overview of Ontario’s retail regulation landscape. Consult the regulator and current law for a current determination. Read our address-checking steps before relying on any third-party entry.

For how we use sources and handle updates, see editorial standards. To flag an issue, report a correction.