Why Canadian beer cans are ‘almost impossible’ as tariffs near 1-year mark

When Ottawa-based Dominion City Brewing put out a call to breweries across the country last year to collaborate on a beer made with “100 per cent Canadian ingredients,” there was at least one component they knew they’d need to import from south of the border — the can itself.

“We brewed an all-Canadian beer — all Canadian, but for the aluminum can, which we could not source in Canada,” Dominion City co-founder Josh McJannet said in an interview with Global News.

As Canada pivots away from U.S.-reliant supply chains and as consumers double down on the “Buy Canadian” sentiment, McJannet says a lot of Canadians might not realize it’s “nearly impossible” to find certain kinds of aluminum beer cans made here at home.

“The 473-millilitre tall can is the standard for beer, and particularly independent beer in Ontario,” McJannet said. “What a lot of people probably don’t know is that there’s actually no Canadian source for a truly Canadian-made tall can.”

It’s one example of how costs add up for consumers as U.S. tariffs approach the one-year mark next month on aluminum and steel products, and despite efforts such as those from McJannet’s brewery to connect and support domestic producers across the industry.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum on Feb. 13, 2025, then increased those to 50 per cent days before they came into effect on March 13, 2025.

McJannet says since then, the cost per unit of procuring a can has jumped from around 15 cents to around 35 cents per unit for his business.

And they’re not alone.

The last year has seen Canadian breweries grapple with cost increases, which translates into higher costs for consumers, said Richard Alexander, president of Beer Canada.

“The biggest factor is the Trump tariffs,” he said.

While most goods traded between Canada and the U.S. are exempt from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, aluminum faces a steep 25 per cent duty.

“I know of one brewery where their aluminum costs have increased 60 per cent. It’s having a serious impact on the brewing industry,” Alexander said.

McJannet’s brewery in Ottawa’s east end is only a few hundred metres from the border with Quebec, the province that is the source of 60 per cent of all of North America’s aluminum production.

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But while domestic beer is often locally produced and consumed, Canada and the United States have had a deeply integrated beer-making industry over the last few decades – much like the broader economy.

Smelted aluminum crosses the border several times before it makes it to the shelves of your liquor store and into your hands, Alexander said.

“The aluminum is smelted in Canada, goes across the border into the U.S., gets manufactured into a can sheet, and then it comes back to Canada to be made into cans,” Alexander said.

The beer industry’s supply chain and market are largely domestic — with Canadian grain being used to make beer for Canadian consumers — but it needs the U.S. aluminum processing industry for packaging.

“There are things that Canadians can do more cost-effectively than Americans and vice versa. In Canada, we can smelt aluminum because of the hydroelectric power that we have in Quebec and the Americans have a larger market that they can sell can sheet to,” he said.

While many in the beer industry would prefer an entirely domestic supply chain, Alexander said it may be hard to do.

“The manufacturing of can sheet is a very, very expensive process. The investments to create that kind of a manufacturing facility in Canada, with just a domestic market, it wouldn’t make economic sense,” he said.

While some brewers may package beer in glass bottles, Alexander said around 80 per cent of Canada’s beer is packaged in aluminum cans.

“There’s less breakage. They’re lighter, so that lowers transportation costs. It protects the product from light much more than bottles. Beer is a product that needs to be fresh, so cans help keep the product fresh more than bottles.”

Canada, the United States and Mexico are expected to head back to the drawing board as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) Free Trade Agreement comes up for review.

McJannet hopes the leaders of the three countries will be able to secure a stable trade deal.

However, he said the beer industry is preparing for an uncertain future.

“We can’t expect things to snap back into place. That language around this being a rupture, not a transition – I think we’re feeling that,” he said.