VANCOUVER -- A Statistics Canada report shows British Columbians spent only 10 dollars per capita at retail cannabis stores in nearly the first year of legalized sales.

The federal agency says that was the lowest amount in the country and less than a tenth of the 109 dollars per capita spent in Yukon from October 17th of last year to the end of September.

It says sales at retail stores and online totalled just under 50-million dollars in B-C despite a surge in the number of cannabis outlets.

Statistics Canada says the number of stores jumped from 16 in March to 57 in July, the second highest number in the country. 

Earlier in December, B-C Premier John Horgan said a number of factors hampered cannabis profits, including policing costs and competition from the illegal market.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2019.