Canopy Growth to partner with Quebec retailer to open pot shop in London, Ont.

Cannabis company Canopy Growth Corp. says it's teaming up with Quebec retail giant Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to support a privately run pot shop in London, Ont.

In a news release Thursday, Canopy says the two companies plan to form a multi-year strategic partnership involving a new cannabis outlet set to open in the city in April.

Currently, the only place to buy legal recreational weed in Ontario is through a government-run online outlet, the Ontario Cannabis Store, but private brick-and-mortar shops are set to open April 1.

The provincial agency responsible for regulating those stores, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, held a lottery last month to choose the entities that could apply for the initial 25 retail licences.

Canopy and Couche-Tard say they have entered into a trademark licence agreement with one of the winners of that lottery to open a store under Canopy's Tweed brand.

The companies say the lottery winner will continue to have "full ownership and control over the London store."