Boreal’s Yellowknife-grown cannabis now for sale in the NWT

Cannabis grown and packaged by Yellowknife’s Boreal Cultivation is now for sale at city retailers for the first time.

Boreal began selling its Gas Banana strain in some parts of Canada three months ago, but Friday marked its first day on sale within the Northwest Territories.

Company president Jordan Harker said Boreal had to focus on fulfilling orders from the likes of Ontario and Manitoba, given it “takes a lot of work” to get into those provinces – and failing to fill orders could mean being removed as a supplier.

“It was a weird situation where our first two harvests went mainly to Ontario and not here. It’s about time and it feels really good to have Boreal here for people in Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories,” Harker said on Friday afternoon as he bought a package of his firm’s Gas Banana at the city’s ReLeaf store.

Gas Banana is described by Harker as gassy – “a taste profile that is very popular” – with a lot of sweetness.

“It’s potent, it’s got thick smoke, but at the end you’ve got a little bit of sweetness to it,” he said. “It’s a relaxing strain. It’s great for anti-anxiety and stress and it doesn’t really burn you out. It doesn’t knock you on the couch all night, you can actually do things and function as a human being.”

Harker says the feedback from places like Ontario in the opening months of sale has been good – “we had probably a dozen calls and emails from people saying it’s their favourite flower, so it’s pretty cool” – and the company is doing enough business to start working on expansion plans at its Engle Business District premises.

“We’re actually turning away purchase orders from provinces, which is a bit crazy, because people are really fighting to get that in most of the market,” he said.

“We can’t grow enough now for the demand from Ontario, so that aspect needs to be fixed. If we can’t fulfill a $30,000 purchase order, that means we’re losing $30,000 a month.”

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If enough funding can be found, Boreal wants to add an extra flower room to grow more product and meet demand.

“Starting slow was the smart thing to do, but there’s that line where you need to grow or else you might shrink,” Harker said.

“Keeping that appetite filled in other provinces – and locally, too – is the key.”