Beer in Canada

Beer in Canada was introduced by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries due Roy [sic] started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until Prohibition in Canada. The provincial and federal governments' attempt to eliminate "intoxicating" beverages led to the closing of nearly three quarters of breweries between 1878 and 1928. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that a significant number of new breweries opened up. The Canadian Beer industry now plays an important role in Canadian identity, though globalization of the brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by, or merged with, foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers, Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. The result is that Moosehead, with an estimated 3.8 percent share of the domestic market in 2016, has become the largest fully Canadian-owned brewer.

Beer sales have been sluggish overall in volume and in growth in industry revenue as other beverages have increased in popularity. Growth in revenue for beer makers averaged 1.3 per cent per year during 2011-2016; the estimated annual growth over the subsequent five years is only 0.4 percent per annum. Nonetheless, the number of licensed breweries in Canada increased from 310 in 2010 to 640 in 2015. Many of these are small operations since there were only 30 huge (making over 7.5 million litres per year) breweries in 2015.

That is understandable since craft brewing is a very fast-growing segment both in terms of the number of producers and the volume sold. This is probably because of its appeal to a wider demographic than the traditional mass-market beers which primarily target young males. (Men consume an estimated 71.5% of beer in terms of volume.) According to one expert, "The craft industry is attracting new consumers from different segments who would normally drink different things ... In other words: non-jock men and young women, who traditionally haven’t been courted by beer marketers." This makes it understandable that the major Canadian brewers have been acquiring small, local breweries.

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