Craft brewers see opportunity to encourage buying local over U.S. tariff threat

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There’s a thirst brewing for truly Canadian goods following the threat of 25% tariffs coming from south of the border.

And that includes beverages like craft beers.

Tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump on Canadian goods entering the U.S. and an immediate response by the federal government with reciprocal import tariffs on American goods would have a negative effect on local craft brewers.

For now, there is a reprieve until March, although Trump’s tariff threat remains.

The last few days have awoken Canadians to think more about buying local and that our economy needs further support, said Scott Simmons, the CEO of Ontario Craft Brewers.

“As Ontarians and Canadians, there are so many ways by supporting — in our case — Ontario-owned businesses,” he said.

“Those dollars stay in our communities, in our towns and in our province. They create jobs.”

Simmons pointed out that about 11% of Ontario’s beer market is produced by craft breweries, which also account for 80% of the province’s jobs in the industry.

“Imagine if by supporting local we could double that number from 11% to 22%, what would happen to the jobs? Not to mention, hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefit to our province,” he said.

“Our industry is just one example. I think all of us as Ontario citizens can do a much better job to look at the products we’re purchasing and make sure that they’re manufactured by an Ontario-owned business.”

Bromlyn Bethune, president of Steam Whistle Brewery, said the company is set to mark 25 years in business next month as a craft brewer and sources most of its product inputs in Canada.

She said craft brewers in general are likely to be hit hard if tariffs are imposed.

“In the world of brewing, there are so many key inputs that would impact all of us, big and small, whether that’s paper pulp, aluminum, chemicals, just ingredients for brewing,” she said.

“I think everyone in the brewing industry is going to be impacted.”

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However, there’s no time like now to celebrate Canadian beers, Bethune said.

“I have never seen truly such nationalism in my career, certainly for beer brands,” she said. “I think the movement is really real. For us, we’re celebrating what has been on our packaging for years and what we’ve been doing as a brewery in Canada.”

Bethune said Steam Whistle, Toronto’s largest independent craft brewery, only serves the Canadian market and has no plans to expand into the U.S.

“I love seeing Canadians supporting Canadians. We have world-class brands and companies that need to be celebrated,” she said.

However, the CEO of Junction Craft Beverage Co. in the city’s west end said his business would be affected as tariffs would be slapped on products as it crosses the border.

“Although we are a craft brewery and we have our own brands in Ontario, over half of our business is actually export,” Stuart Wheldon said. “We are one of the top non-alcoholic beer producers and we have a lot of American customers.”

Wheldon explained that the only product input that is imported from the U.S. is aluminum cans, so he considers Junction lucky in that respect.

However, he said one of the top strategic goals of the company is to expand its business through a partner network in the U.S., while also increasing its Canadian brands here, which is already underway.

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