Canada spot Index Report:This week we provide an update on store counts nationwide, with an emphasis on the development of Ontarios legal market. Overall, the Canadian cannabis industry has increased the pace at which it is opening new retail outlets across the country. At the end of July, we crossed the milestone of 1,000 stores and expansion has not slowed since then. As of September, we counted 1,159 licensed retailers, with an average monthly growth rate of 6.3% in 2020. This solid growth rate comes despite many store applications and openings being delayed due to COVID-19 shutdowns. Source: Cannabis Benchmarks The 75-store increase in September was dominated by Ontario. Ontarios Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO) issued a statement on September 1 regarding Cannabis Retail Store Authorizations. AGCO stated that they were going to double the pace of store authorizations this fall. This suggested that, on average, up to 40 new stores would be opened each month through the end of the year. With the most recent Ontario store count, we can confirm that 40 new stores were in fact opened in the province in September, bringing the total in Ontario to 178. This is still far below the 526 retailers active in Alberta, And Ontario should lead all provinces in store count by late 2021 if this pace continues. As we have reported in the past, expansion of the legal markets physical presence in the form of licensed storefronts correlates strongly with increased sales, up to a point. However, given Ontarios large population and still relatively low store count, saturation of retail outlets in the province is a long ways off.