Growing weed in Canada: the 4-plant rule by province

How many weed plants can you grow in Canada?

Under the federal Cannabis Act, an adult can grow up to four cannabis plants per residence for personal use. The limit is for the home, not for each person, so three adults in one house still share a total of four. It counts plants at any stage, from seedling to flowering.

The Act sets the most a province can allow. A province can be stricter, and several are. It cannot let you grow more than four per home. Selling what you grow is not allowed either, because only federally licensed producers can grow cannabis for sale.

Age matters too. The federal minimum is 18, but each province picks its own age for buying and growing, and most use 19. See the table below and our guide to weed measurements for how the 30 g public possession limit fits in.

What are the home-grow rules in each province?

The pattern is simple: eight provinces allow four plants with conditions, Manitoba allows them indoors only, and Quebec allows none. The territories have their own rules, so check the territorial government before you grow in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.

Can you grow weed in Quebec or Manitoba?

Quebec: no. Provincial law prohibits growing cannabis for personal use and prohibits having a cannabis plant at all. Fines start at $250 for a first offence. The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the ban in April 2023, ruling that the federal law removes criminal penalties but does not create a right to grow.

Manitoba: yes, indoors, since May 1, 2025. For more than six years after legalization, home growing was banned there, and older articles still say so. Adults 19 and older can now grow up to four plants per household in a room, container or enclosure that anyone under 19 cannot get into, using seeds or plants bought from a licensed Manitoba store.

If you are not sure which rule applies, the province's own page is the one to trust. Our Quebec and Manitoba pages link to the official rules.

Do locked space and out-of-sight rules apply?

In several provinces, yes. These are the conditions that trip people up, because the federal rule says nothing about them.

• New Brunswick: indoor plants need a separate locked space, and outdoor plants need a locked enclosure at least 1.52 metres (5 feet) tall.
• Prince Edward Island: outdoor plants must be hidden from public view and kept in a locked enclosure at least 1.52 metres high. Indoors, the space must be off limits to anyone under 19 and to uninvited visitors.
• British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador: plants cannot be visible from public places. In Newfoundland and Labrador they must also stay inside the home or a secure building such as a shed.
• Manitoba: indoors only, in a space people under 19 cannot reach.

Even where the province is silent, a landlord's lease, a condo bylaw or a municipal rule can forbid growing. Renters in Prince Edward Island need written permission from the landlord first. Treat the lease as part of the law that applies to you.

Keeping plants away from children and pets is a basic safety point in every province, and a lock is the simplest way to do it.

Where can you legally get weed seeds and clones in Canada?

Seeds and starter plants must come from a legal source: a federally licensed seller, or a provincially authorized retailer. In Ontario that means the Ontario Cannabis Store or an authorized store, and in Manitoba a licensed Manitoba store. In British Columbia, licensed stores and BC Cannabis Stores sell them.

Not every store stocks seeds or clones, and the range changes. Check the product listings in your province, or call ahead. You can browse the retailers for each province at Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Seeds count toward your possession limit. Under Schedule 3 of the Cannabis Act, one seed counts as 1 g of dried cannabis, which is why 30 seeds is the public maximum. Our seed guide covers how this works. Seeds from an unlicensed seller, from a friend's stash of unknown origin, or from outside Canada are not a legal source.

What kind of seeds should you start with?

Regular seeds produce a mix of male and female plants. Only females make the flowers people use, and a male plant growing near females pollinates them and fills the flower with seeds. If your limit is four plants, losing half to males is a real cost. Read male vs female weed plants before you plant.

Feminized seeds are bred to produce females. Autoflowering seeds flower on a set age rather than on a change in daylight, which makes them simpler to time and usually smaller. Our autoflower strains guide goes through them.

Whichever you pick, buy from a legal seller and keep the packaging and receipt. They show where the seeds came from.

How do you stay on the right side of the law?

A few habits cover most of the risk. Count every plant, including seedlings and clones, against your four. Grow only at the residence where you live. Keep the harvest within your province's rules, and remember that Canada's 30 g public possession limit applies when you carry it out of the house.

Do not sell or trade what you grow. The Cannabis Act prohibits selling cannabis outside the licensed system, and the penalties are far steeper than for an over-the-limit plant count. Sharing with another adult is allowed in small amounts, but you cannot charge for it. British Columbia says this explicitly.

If you carry a budding or flowering plant in public, you can be fined in some provinces, and in Newfoundland and Labrador it is a criminal offence. When moving plants, keep them out of sight and check the local rule first.