The Saskatchewan breweries are preparing for the potential 25% price impacts of US President Donald Trump on Canadian steel and aluminum, which is expected to come into force on March 12.
“We are preparing for another roller coaster,” said Mark Heise, president and chief executive officer of Rebellion Brewing in Regina.
Although Canada is a large producer of raw aluminum and has a massive fusion capacity, the country has no rollers to produce the thin sheets necessary for cans. Many breweries get their cans in the United States
“We are currently buying, approaching some of our cans in the United States, so it’s a lot of concern,” said Heise, adding that some of their suppliers store their Canadian inventories.
He says that if the prices come into force, his business may have to examine alternative suppliers, but this is not a prospect that he is impatiently awaiting.
“In the past, when there was previously aluminum prices, we actually started to buy our aluminum cans directly outside Mexico as well as China after pressure on Mexican supplies.”
Brewing district marketing coordinator Hayden McPherson said their brewery is already changing suppliers.
Get daily national news
Get the best news of the day, the titles of political, economic and current affairs, delivered in your reception box once a day.
“We find many more Canadian suppliers who give us much better rates, especially as things happen. And these are some of these transitions that we are doing right now,” he said.
Heise says he would like to see more Canadian craft solutions, including more interior production of aluminum products.
“We should transform our raw materials into value-added products here at the national level, instead of shipping them elsewhere to transform them into cans or anything else,” he said, while recognizing that there is probably no “quick solution” that governments can use to provide instant relief of prices.
Meanwhile, McPherson would like to see a easier business between the provinces to encourage consumers to consider Canadian manufacturing products.
– With Marija Robinson files
& Copy 2025 Global News, A Division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
