“Our host is so big that she won Big Brother Canada,” said Matei Olaru, CEO of Toronto-based tech company Lift & Co, as he introduced host Sarah Hanlon to a room full of “best buds” at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York on Friday night.
It was also a very
big night — the 6th Annual Canadian Cannabis Awards, an annual event that this year was estimated to bring together nearly 900 cannabis industry leaders.
The glittering award night was dedicated to the movers and shakers of the Canadian industry. Recognizing top people, products and companies, the award ceremony was hosted by Sarah Hanlon, winner of Big Brother Canada 3, and The GrowthOp (TGO) contributor. “The awards a year before were hosted by Rick Campanelli, of ET Canada fame, so I clearly have some big shoes to fill,” she
wrote in TGO’s Pot Culture column late in October.
The star of the night was Ottawa-based pot retail store Superette, winning:
- Top Retail Location (1306 Wellington St., Ottawa, Ontario)
- Top Budtender (Ellen McKay)
- Startup of the Year; Co-founder and CEO Mimi Lam wins
- Womxn in Weed-Trailblazer (Mimi Lam, co-founder and CEO )
Accepting her award onstage, an overwhelmed Ellen McKay said, “Wow! This time last year, I had no idea whether or not I would have a future in the cannabis industry.” Superette was also one of the nominees for Brand of the Year.
In an hour and a half long award ceremony, 32 awards were presented in both consumers’ choice and judged categories. Other big wins include:
- Innovation of the Year: Solei Renew CBN Oil for their proprietary THC-to-CBN conversion technique that helped launch the first CBN oil on the Canadian market;
- Top Non-Profit/Charity/Community Initiative: Tweed and TerraCycle for the development of the first national recycling program in the Canadian cannabis industry;
- Brand of the Year: 7Acres resonated with the judging panel with their #RespectThePlant campaign to secure this award second year in a row.
Kevin Anderson from Broken Coast Cannabis Ltd. was awarded the
Top Master Grower award, who in his acceptance speech had only one thing to say: “Thank you, everyone, that loves weed.”
The top
cannabis flower and oil products were chosen with a record-setting over 31,000 votes by consumers, Lift&Co. confirmed in a press statement. Select top products of the year included:
- Top High THC Bottle Oil: Rossignol by Organigram;
- Top Capsule: Argyle Softgels by Tweed;
- Top Sativa Preroll: Jean Guy by Good Supply;
- Top Sativa Flower: Tangerine Dream by San Rafael ’71;
- Top Hybrid Flower: Ruxton (Sour OG) by Broken Coast Cannabis.
“And that was it, we did,” said Hanlon as all the winners were announced, and in some cases displayed on the screen.
As the celebration came to a close, attendees were encouraged to give to a choice of four Canadian charities as part of the campaign, Trec With Purpose, to Dress for Success Toronto, HXOUSE, Evergreen, and Cannabis Amnesty. Donations are open
here until the end of the year.
