Beer Drinking in Canada

Drinking beer has been part of Canada’s identity since the seventeenth Century when the settlers arrived. In fact, it features in the list of the world’s top 30 beer-drinking nations. But the country has experienced a decline in sales over the years.

Despite this, beer is still quite popular among Canadians, and the country’s list of brewers is growing. On that note, the brewing licenses doubled between 2010 (310) and 2015 (644). The fact that it grew by 107.74% shows that there are newer small brands to taste.

So, most top manufacturers are losing their market share to newer and smaller breweries. Unfortunately, this trend is quite common in the continent, and Canada is no exception.

Nonetheless, it is great news for beer lovers since now they have more options than they did a decade ago. So how much beer do Canadians consume every year?

How Much Do Canadians Drink Annually?

Canadians love beer; therefore, it’s no surprise that they consume over 22,000,000 hectolitres annually. In theory, that’s a lot of beer; it can fill about 900 Olympic stadiums. One Canadian consumes over 79 litres of beer annually, which shows their love for this beverage. And out of all the beers consumed in Canada every year, only 84% are Canadian-brewed.

Provincial Beer Consumption: Which Canadian province drinks the most beer?

Canada ranked as the 25th highest beer-drinking nation on the planet. But do you know how much beer Canada manufactures and sells? Do you know which state consumed the highest amount of beer in 2020? The beer sold in the entire nation was about 21.12 million hectolitres.

Funny enough, even though Ontario is home to most breweries, it’s not the leading Canadian province. Fortunately, its consumption rate has improved from the lowest in the country (2018) to the second last (2020). Newfoundland Island’s residents consumed the highest amount of beer in 2018 because it recorded 93 litres, followed by Quebec.

Beer Consumption Around the World: What country drinks the most beer?

Many may know Canadians for their love of the brew. But, funny enough, they’re not the world’s highest beer consumers. As a country, Canada ranks twenty-fifth behind the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Therefore, which nations consume the highest amount of beer per annum? Well, the answer is simple, the Czech Republic.

In 2018, the per capita rate of the Czech Republic was about 142 litres, followed by Austria and Romania. The Czech Republic may top the list of beer consumers, but not the list of the world’s highest alcohol consumers. The nation with the highest annual per capita alcohol consumption is Belarus.

Beer Price Increases Are Brewing in Canada: Is beer statistically more expensive in Canada?

Even though the supply of beer is increasing thanks to the new brewers setting up shop, the price is relatively high. Unfortunately, consumption in some provinces has been declining in the last few years. Generally, the retail cost of beer increased by about 4.9% in 2015.

While some firms are trying their best to keep the price hikes low, others seem to be increasing theirs. Some firms like Anheuser-Busch InBev and Molson Coors increased the price by 2.4% in 2017. They blamed the increase on the constant pressure in the sector.

Also, the price is higher in Canada than in the United States. In the U.S., you can get a pack of 24 beers for about $20, but the cheapest in Quebec is $26. On the other hand, Northwest Territories’ residents spend slightly more on beer. They may cough up about $54 for the same pack costing $26 in other places. But despite the price increase, folks will still drink beer.