Aurora Cannabis is closing down a 207-acre outdoor cannabis grow site in Westwold.

The Edmonton-based company says it no longer needs the Aurora Valley property between Kamloops and Vernon because it recently acquired Thrive Cannabis, an Ontario-based company that has both indoor and outdoor grow facilities.

A spokeswoman for Aurora Cannabis says the fewer than 10 employees in Westwold were told of the closure before spring planting began, noting they were offered jobs at other company locations.

Back in 2019 when Aurora was granted the licence to start growing cannabis in Westwold, Chief Corporate Officer, Cam Battley told NL News it was one of the largest, if not the largest, licensed areas to grow cannabis in the world.

“We think it’s entirely appropriate that B.C. gets to play a leading role as cannabis expands in Canada, not just on the medical side but on the consumer side as well,” he said.

“Because B.C. has long been world-famous for its cannabis and we think under the new regime that continues to expand in Canada, and around the world, that B.C. should continue to play a leading role.”

Aurora spokesperson Kate Hillyar told The Canadian Press in an email that Aurora Valley was mostly an exploratory outdoor grow operation, whereas Thrive’s outdoor site has been commercializing product for years.