Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in Canada hit CA$93 billion in the first half of 2018 primarily due to a surge in deals in the cannabis, energy, and real estate sectors, according to PwC Canada's recent 2018 M&A mid-year review and outlook report. Despite turbulent Canada-US trade talks and uncertainty around tariffs, sound underlying market dynamics such as available capital are likely to continue to stoke strong deal activity in the second half of the year.

A marijuana chain is looking to open up shop in the City of Windsor.

Starbuds Canada say it's secured two retail locations in the province, as it looks to set up recreational pot shops in Ontario. 

The decision to expand in the region comes after it was reported the Ontario government will allow private stores to sell marijuana, once recreational cannabis becomes legal on Oct. 17.

"Our goal is to make this a higher-end shopping experience, and something that targets different demographics than maybe the expectation would be, so your soccer moms, your professionals, people of that nature," said Dave Martyn, president of Starbuds.

An American hemp oil manufacturer that was previously caught selling its product illegally in Canada is once again putting its Canadian market plans on hold after telling its sellers to partner with a B.C. company that isn't licensed by Health Canada and is run by a man with a criminal record.

Molson Coors is the next major beer company in line to develop a non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused beer.

The brewing company announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Quebec-based cannabis company Hexo to create the beverages.

The Hydropothecary medical marijuana company recently renamed itself Hexo but will go by the Hydropothecary moniker for its already established medical line of products. Hexo will be used for their recreational products.

The yet to be named joint venture between the two organizations will operate as a standalone company with its own board of directors and management. According to a press release, Molson Coors will control 57.5 per cent of the company while Hexo will own the rest.

Delta 9 Cannabis, a Manitoba-based medical marijuana producer, has entered into a deal with a U.S. company for the rights to a technology that allows medicine to be administered through the skin or mucous membrane.

This nano technology was produced by the startup Nanosphere Health Sciences. It allows for medicines to go directly into the bloodstream, which stops it from going through the gut or the liver.

According to a news release from Delta 9, in terms of cannabis this means someone “can get better ‘bio-availability’ of cannabinoids than even smoking provides.” The company adds that it is the first technology that provides a dosage system for cannabis that is medically appropriate.

Medical marijuana producer Aphria Inc. says its revenues surged in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year but its net loss nearly doubled as it expands in preparation for Canada legalizing recreational cannabis use in October.

The Leamington, Ont.-based company's net loss nearly doubled to $5 million from $2.6 million in the prior year on higher compensation, costs associated with Aphria International and losses in its investment portfolio, partially offset by increased gross profit.

The company has been busy raising money and making acquisition deals, including its February purchase of B.C.-based Broken Coast Cannabis Inc., a transaction valued at more than $200-million in stock and cash.

The buzz around Canada’s legal marijuana market has turned Ottawa’s National Access Cannabis (TSX-V:META) into a “bees’ nest of activity” – and the prospect of private pot retail in Ontario is only sweetening the local firm’s honeypot.

As Canada counts down to the legalization of recreational cannabis on Oct. 17, Canadian Kush Tours is busy hiring guides.

Owner Neev Tapiero, who hosted his first paying customers six months ago, said he expects an “explosion” of visitor interest in Toronto’s cannabis scene, especially among Americans.

“By this time next year I want to offer daily walking tours from hotspots like Dundas Square and Union Station,” Tapiero said while sitting in Vapor Central, one of seven downtown vapour lounges and dispensaries that Kush visits by limousine or bus. “We’re focusing not just on tourists coming specifically to smoke cannabis, but also on those who may not know you can smoke it legally in Canada.”

Strainprint Technologies Ltd. (Strainprint™) – the leader in cannabis strain data and analytics – is excited to announce the addition of two key senior team members: Michelle Arbus, Vice President of Research & Insights, and Noah Kauffman, Director of Sales.  

NanoSphere Health Sciences, Inc, the biotechnology leader behind the patented NanoSphere Delivery System, has entered into a partnership with Delta 9 Cannabis INC to bring products from its cannabis brand, Evolve Formulas, into the Canadian market.

Recently awarded U.S. Patent No. 10,028,919, NanoSphere has just been granted market exclusivity over the standardized delivery of cannabis into systemic circulation through phospholipid nanoparticle technology. The new patent complements NanoSphere’s previously issued patent, U.S. Patent No. 9,925,149, covering the core technology behind the production of the NanoSphere Delivery System.