High North Laboratories

What High North Laboratories does

High North Laboratories (legal entity High North, Inc.) is a Canadian cannabis testing laboratory headquartered in Woodbridge, Ontario, founded in 2016 by John Slaughter. The company operates a full-service analytical testing platform serving licensed cannabis producers, cultivators, and international exporters, with capabilities spanning cannabinoids (HPLC, 17 compounds), pesticides (LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS, covering Health Canada's 96-residue list, European Pharmacopoeia EP 2.8.13 69 residues, and IMCA 308 residues), terpenes (GC-MS, 59 compounds), residual solvents (GC-MS, 29 solvents), heavy metals (ICP-MS), microbials (qPCR, TEMPO, culture plating), mycotoxins (LC-MS/MS), and plant viruses (qPCR/ELISA, nine viruses including Hop Latent Viroid). The facility holds a Health Canada Drug Establishment Licence / Good Manufacturing Practice (DEL/GMP) certification (insNumber 75072) and ISO accreditation through SCC-CCN.

The company runs a cloud-native Laboratory Information Management System hosted on Amazon RDS with TLS encryption and exposes a self-serve client portal at portal.highnorth.com for registration, sample submission, and order tracking, complemented by a client care team for enterprise accounts. Revenue is generated per-test on a published or agreed-in-writing pricing model, with services bundled into complete or compliance packages for Health Canada requirements and international export testing. The company self-reports serving 10,000+ customers globally and having issued 100,000+ Certificates of Analysis, positioning itself as Canada's largest cannabis laboratory.

The business is privately held with no public ticker, no disclosed institutional ownership beyond a 2018 investment by New Age Ventures, and no announced M&A or geographic expansion beyond cross-border export testing. The company is actively operating with no reported closures, leadership transitions, or restructuring events.

Name

High North Laboratories

Legal name

High North, Inc.

Website

https://highnorth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

High North Laboratories is a Canadian DEL/GMP-licensed and ISO-accredited cannabis testing laboratory in Woodbridge, Ontario, offering comprehensive analytical services — cannabinoids, pesticides, terpenes, solvents, heavy metals, microbials, and viruses — to licensed cannabis producers and international exporters through a self-serve portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cannabis Laboratory Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (541380), Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Residue & Contaminant Testing (Pesticides, Vet Drugs, Mycotoxins, Heavy Metals) (AFALAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Risk Assessment, Hazard Analysis & Food Defense/Fraud Programs (AFALAAAO), Proficiency Testing, Method Validation & Reference Materials (Food Labs) (AFALAAAK)

Keywords

• Cannabis laboratory testing
• Analytical testing services
• Regulatory compliance testing
• Pesticides residue testing
• Cannabinoids potency testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Woodbridge

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Cannabis Laboratory Testing Services: High North Laboratories generates revenue through laboratory testing services for cannabis producers. Services are priced as published on the website or as otherwise agreed in writing between High North and the client. Testing covers Health Canada compliance requirements and international export standards. Samples are processed on a first-come, first-served basis with results delivered as Certificates of Analysis (COAs).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

High North Laboratories operates a licensed cannabis analytical testing laboratory providing Health Canada compliance testing, international export testing, environmental testing, and plant virus testing for licensed cannabis producers. The laboratory performs cannabinoids profiling via HPLC, pesticide residue analysis via LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS, terpenes and residual solvents via GC-MS, heavy metals via ICP-MS, microbial and virus testing via qPCR/ELISA, and consolidates results into proprietary Certificates of Analysis (COAs).

Product overview

High North Laboratories operates as a unified cannabis testing laboratory platform offering a comprehensive suite of analytical testing services. The core offerings include Health Canada Testing, International Testing, Environmental Testing, and Virus Testing as the primary service lines. Underlying these are specific testing methodologies: Cannabinoids Testing (HPLC), Pesticides Testing (LC-MS/MS & GC-MS/MS), Terpenes Testing (GC-MS), Residual Solvents Testing (GC-MS), Mycotoxins Testing (LC-MS/MS), Heavy Metals Testing (ICP-MS), Microbials Testing (qPCR, TEMPO & Culture plating), and Virus Testing (qPCR/ELISA). The High North Report serves as the aggregated reporting module. Customers access services through the High North Customer Portal for ordering, tracking, and managing results. The company holds DEL/GMP license and ISO accreditation status.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health Canada Testing

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ customers served globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Anandia Labs: Canadian cannabis-focused analytical and genetics laboratory that historically provided cannabinoid, terpene, pesticide, and contaminant testing to licensed producers. A direct competitor in the Canadian cannabis testing market; was acquired by Aurora Cannabis, illustrating the consolidation path available to High North.
• Supra THC Labs: Health Canada-licensed Canadian cannabis testing laboratory offering cannabinoid potency, terpene, residual solvent, heavy metal, microbial, and pesticide panels. Direct competitor with comparable Health Canada compliance testing menu for Canadian licensed producers.
• Valens Labs: Canadian analytical laboratory affiliated with The Valens Company offering cannabis potency and contaminant testing for licensed producers. Direct Canadian cannabis testing peer with overlapping Health Canada compliance service offerings.
• MCR Labs: Massachusetts-based cannabis testing laboratory (ISO 17025 accredited) providing cannabinoid, terpene, pesticide, heavy metal, microbial, and residual solvent testing for licensed cannabis operators. Closest US analogue to High North in scope and accreditation.
• SC Labs: California-based cannabis testing laboratory with multiple state licences offering full-panel potency, contaminant, and pesticide testing. Comparable in menu breadth, multi-jurisdiction accreditation, and B2B cannabis-producer go-to-market.
• Steep Hill: Pioneer US cannabis testing laboratory offering cannabinoid, terpene, microbial, and contaminant testing to licensed producers across multiple states. Direct peer in cannabis-specific analytical services with comparable technology stack.
• EVIO Labs: Multi-state US cannabis testing laboratory offering potency and contaminant testing to licensed cannabis operators. Comparable in menu breadth and licensed-producer go-to-market, though US-focused versus High North's Canadian anchor.
• CannTest: Alaska-based cannabis testing laboratory offering potency, terpene, pesticide, heavy metal, and microbial testing for licensed cultivators and processors. Similar scope of analytical services and licensed-producer customer base.
• PhytoTech Labs: US cannabis analytical laboratory offering potency, terpene, pesticide, residual solvent, heavy metal, and microbial testing panels for licensed operators. Comparable menu, instrumentation (HPLC, LC-MS/MS, GC-MS), and producer-focused GTM.
• Aurum Labs: Oregon-based cannabis testing laboratory offering full-panel analytical services including cannabinoids, terpenes, pesticides, solvents, and microbials. Comparable menu breadth and licensed-producer customer profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about High North Laboratories