store: The connectTo decorator doesn't work when using canActivate

One of my use cases is needing to check if a view-model can instantiate by checking if a project exists. Basically, I have a bunch of projects and you can view a singular project.

This is what it looks like.

    async canActivate(params) {
        await this.store.dispatch(getCategories);
        await this.store.dispatch(loadProjects);

        const project: any = this.state.projects.reduce((project, currentItem) => {
            if (currentItem.slug === params.slug) {
                project = currentItem;
            }

            return project;
        }, {});

        if (!project.slug) {
            return new Redirect('');
        }

        this.project = project;
        this.projectAdded = new Date(project.added).toDateString();
    }

If I use connectTo on the class, it applies the state too late to the view-model. However, if I manually add the subscriber from inside of the constructor it allows me to do this check.

        this.store.state.subscribe(
            (state: State) => this.state = state
        );

The question here is: am I doing something wrong in my workflow or is the connectTo decorator the incorrect thing to use in this situation?