Canada’s beer industry generated $13.6 billion in economic activity in 2016, according to a report released last month by the Conference Board of Canada, Brewing Up Benefits: The Economic Footprint of Canada’s Beer Economy.
The 12-page report explains in significant numbers that this economic footprint — which comes from beer consumption not only within Canada but also from foreign demand of Canadian-brewed beer — supports much more than the breweries themselves, making waves in supply chains across the country.
“Consuming a Canadian-brewed beer supports many more jobs and businesses beyond the local brewery,” said Pedro Antunes, Deputy Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada. “No matter where Canadians buy beer, they support jobs across the country in a wide range of industries, including accommodation and food services, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and agriculture.”
Despite facing some challenges, beer prevails as Canada’s most popular alcoholic beverage. To translate that into some numbers, the report reveals that Canadians (of legal drinking age) bought the equivalent of 223 bottles of beer per person in stores in 2016 – that’s a total of about 23 million hectolitres.
All this enjoyment and consumption resulted in nearly 149,000 jobs across the country in 2016, and $5.7 billion in annual tax revenues for federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments.
Thirsty for more information? Learn more on the Conference Board of Canada website.