High! Canada Magazine's Top Cannabis Events of 2018

Cannabis expos, conferences and cups are a big part of the ongoing education of an entire nation.

From coast to coast and month to month we had the extreme pleasure of attending a majority of the mid to large sized cannabis events in Canada. As a National team we always take the time during and after the event to access how well it went, how the attendance was, what the speakers were like and how well they were received. We take into account things like ease of accessibility which is essential for good consumer traffic, how the event is evolving over time and how well it was received by both the b2b and consumer side of the community at large.

Our Number One in 2018 was the Lift Expo in Toronto. This was the event of the year and across the board was considered ‘the’ keystone cannabis event of 2018. Kudos!

Our Number Two was the Grow Up Conference held in Niagara Falls and was selected because it linked the art of growing to the consumer and because it was one of the most consumer driven shows we attended. A great mix of both consumer and B2B traffic in a gorgeous venue.

Our Number Three event of 2018 was the O’Cannabiz Expo with both their Toronto and Vancouver shows. These shows are where dreams are either made or broken. The business of cannabis is huge and every year we see the sheer number of cannabis based entrepreneurs and investors grow. Where do they go to take that dream to the next level? O’ Cannabiz of course!

There were also a number of really stand out events in 2018 that we would really like to acknowledge as well.

The Indigenous Cannabis Cup presented by Smoke Signals in the Tyendinaga Territories in Ontario held an amazing first time event in 2018 and this year’s ICC is going to be ever better.

In Calgary, the Cannabis Hemp Expo was the ‘cannot miss’ event of the year in Alberta. These organizers are on the top of their game and it is tremendously heartening to see the good work they have done, not only in Calgary but Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ottawa.

The Cannabis Living Expo in the fall in Toronto was also a very great first time event - transforming the usual tradeshow into a real celebration of cannabis in Canada and also need to be commended on a job well done.

On the other side of the coin, Hempfest has also been expanding across the country. In 2018 we saw them open up Saskatoon to the cannabis trade show circuit and in 2019 they have added both Halifax and Hamilton to their list of untapped market potential.

The sky is the limit for both of these conference groups as Canadians scramble to learn everything they can about the new market.