Best Canadian Cities for Work in the Cannabis Industry? (Management, Inventory and Budtending Experience)

Hello,

I qualify for Canadian citizenship and am in the process of applying. My partner and I are US citizens and are making plans to move up there. To give some context as to why, I am transgender and fear for my safety here, so it's less of a pipe dream and more of a "oh shit, we have to make this happen at any and all costs" sort of a situation, though we will have a few years to plan. To reiterate, I qualify for Canadian citizenship, therefore whether or not I have the right to work in the country is not in question and I will not be needing a visa. I am not applying for refugee status in Canada and am not interested in discussing whether or not that's a possibility in this thread.

I have 5 years experience working in weed shops, specifically as a budtender, inventory manager, shift lead, and assistant store manager. The only other departments I haven't worked in are marketing or purchasing. I don't have a university degree, but If it counts for anything in the weed industry, I also speak French and Spanish. (can't go to Québec because partner is monolingual anglophone)

Where would be a good recommendation for a city:

1. that has at least "okay" public transport (we don't drive)?
2. where I might be able to find a job in the cannabis industry related to my experience AND also make a livable wage/find housing?

My state's cannabis laws are a little on the restrictive side, so if the city has other weed-related businesses like dab bars or weed cafés, that would be interesting for me as these are not available in my state.

Other questions in my mind: What are some of the major differences between the provinces when it comes to compliance laws and regulations? What are some of the differences between Canada vs the US? Similar to the Sell it Right certification for BC, are there other trainings, licenses or certifications I would need to get for the other provinces? In addition to those, are there other extra certifications I can acquire to increase my chances of being hired?

So far, BC is at the top of our list, Nanaimo in particular. We're not ruling out Vancouver, but we've heard how expensive it is so we don't want to get our hopes up. We're also considering Victoria. Some non-BC cities on our list:

• Waterloo, ON
• Toronto
• Winnipeg (heard it's great for affordability but winters can be cold as the surface of Mars so this is a last resort)
• Halifax, NS

Can't go to Alberta, Saskatchewan or the Territories. Already mentioned Québec. PEI probably wouldn't work, but I'm having trouble finding information about the province that isn't related to tourism. [Also, on that note, let me just say right now if there's not a weed shop, brand or strain doing a play on words with Anne of Green Gables, they are missing out and the world needs them. Please, Reddit, tell me that something both weed-related and Anne of Green Gables-related exists out there in the world.]

If you've gotten this far, thank you! I know this is a lot so any info at all is appreciated.

Edit: forgot to mention that we intend to move once we both have the right to work in Canada and my partner has his work visa approved. We will not be moving until we've saved for a few years and we know that we'll both be able to legally work up there, so the intent is to have dual income and for both of us to find jobs as soon as possible.