Area planted for hemp flowers in Canada nearly quintupled in 2024, hitting 4,607 hectares – signaling a possible resurgence for CBD and other hemp-derived cannabinoids – while promising markets in hempseed foods and fiber appear to have stalled, according to an annual crop report from regulator Health Canada.
Hemp cannabinoid stakeholders are gambling that a market for over-the-counter (OTC) CBD products, currently under review by the government, will eventually open the floodgates for a highly restricted sector now estimated at anywhere from US$100-$500 million. Industry analysts suggest that such a regulatory change could unlock a substantially larger consumer base in a higher-value category with significantly broader reach. Some estimates put the potential well north of $1 billion annually.
There is little else to explain the explosive growth in Canadian hemp flowers. Although Canada permits the production and export of CBD under its Cannabis Act, the United States remains off-limits as a legal destination. Some CBD produced in Canada may be going to Europe, but it’s difficult to determine how much because CBD is lumped with medical marijuana in export reports. Germany has been a leading importer of medical cannabis from Canada, which also counts Australia, Israel and the UK among trade partners. But how much of that is CBD is anyone’s guess.
Losses balance total
The sudden rise in flower farming – led by a massive spike in flower production in Quebec – stands in stark contrast to the country’s usually stalwart grain sector, and an emerging fiber sector, both of which suffered major contractions that caused 2024 Canadian fields to remain flat at about 15,000 hectares overall.
Quebec contributed the majority of the hemp flower acreage last year, with 3,629 ha., according to the annual report. (Alberta, the second largest, put in 883.8 ha.) Although Quebec has a limited history in growing hemp flowers, the province has long been a powerhouse in marijuana cultivation and is home to major licensed cannabis producers and extensive indoor facilities.
Canada’s hectares under flower varieties nearly equaled the total area harvested from U.S. flower cultivation last year, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 4,788 ha (11,827 acres)—a substantial jump for Canada, even though not all hectares will be harvested.
Improved strains
Antonio Bramante of Montréal-based Décision de la Nature Inc., who represents Atlantic Canada on the board of the newly formed Canadian Industrial Hemp Promotion-Research Agency, said growers in Quebec are benefiting from the emergence of outdoor cultivars with consistently high CBD yields. “There are a few strains now that are proving to have a high CBD content,” Bramante said. “That’s reigniting interest from growers who had previously written off the category.”
He also said demand for minor cannabinoids like CBG and CBN, particularly among veterans and medical users, may be another driver behind the shift to flower cultivation. “Now, because a hemp grower can legally sell flower to a licensed producer, it takes a couple of years for the market to ramp up,” Bramante added, noting that policy changes in 2021–2022 enabled new channels for biomass sales to extractors.
Under Canadian rules, CBD products are treated on par with THC in taxation and control regimes, which restricts consumer access and maintains the segment as just one part of the broader cannabis ecosystem. Bramante estimates that CBD accounts for roughly 40% of cannabis product demand across recreational and medical segments.
Fiber, grain in retreat
While the total hemp acreage in Canada held steady—up slightly to 15,774 hectares from 15,588 in 2023—the bump in flower acreage masked sharp declines in the two most sustainable and food-secure sectors, according to the report.
Fiber hemp fields fell by nearly 50% (from 3,260 to 1,865 hectares), while grain fields dropped about 20% (from 10,500 to 8,400 hectares). These sectors, which are at the foundation of Canada’s industrial hemp strategy, would appear to be losing ground as growers chase higher returns from flower crops.
Bramante pushed back on the grain figures, noting that grain is actually on the rise again due to shortages in the marketplace. “There are buyers in Canada who are buying up whatever is B/C grade grain and shipping it to Europe for animal feed,” he said, adding that international demand is propping up the sector.
He acknowledged that fiber has been harder hit. Several well-capitalized ventures across Canada—including in the Rockies and Maritimes—have folded or paused operations due to lack of working capital and failure to build close to reliable fiber sources. Bramante said processing must be located within a “100-kilometer radius” of sufficient cultivation or risk falling apart.
Crisis or bottom?
Despite the downturn, Bramante believes the Canadian hemp sector has reached a low point it won’t return to. “This is the lowest you’ll ever hit,” he said. “You will never see a year that’s this low ever again.”
Canada’s hemp license holders also declined from 737 in 2023 to 624 in 2024, a 15% contraction. Just 34.75% of those authorized to cultivate reported their Notice of Cultivation results for the 2024 growing season.
Canadian producers are also eyeing developments in the United States, where proposed tariffs on hemp imports could affect exports of hemp seed and hurd. Bramante said Canadian products are highly competitive due to the weak Canadian dollar, but that tighter margins could hit farmers directly. “Canadian farmers are going to make less profit,” he said, “but the market will still be there.”
