Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing you on behalf of Teamsters Canada. Our union proudly represents over 130 000 workers across the country, including 2 000 brewery workers. These are dedicated Canadians who work hard every day at Labatt, Molson and other breweries to produce, package, and deliver our domestic beer.
You were elected on a promise to champion Canadian working families. You said you wanted to protect our jobs and our purchasing power. Today we are asking you to keep that promise.
Our industry is struggling. Sales are down. Production costs are skyrocketing. Inflation is hurting everyone. Yet your government is preparing to raise the federal excise tax on beer once again on April 1, 2026.
Since 2017, the federal excise tax on beer has increased automatically every year. These increases happen without a vote or debate in Parliament. It is a tax ratchet, and it is hurting our industry.
While our American neighbours are lowering taxes to support their breweries and their workers, Canada is moving in the opposite direction. The consequences are serious. Our plants are increasingly at a disadvantage, and the jobs of our members are at risk.
Another tax hike in these troubled economic times would constitute a direct attack on industry and good union jobs. That’s not how you help working people.
Prime Minister, it is time to turn words into action.
Instead of placing an additional burden on a struggling industry, we are asking you to cancel this unfair tax increase. But that alone is not enough. If you truly want to defend workers, invest where it matters. Implement meaningful support programs and fund workforce training so that working Canadians can continue to earn a living with dignity in a strong and sustainable sector.
Workers are watching you, and they expect you to protect their jobs and their families.
François Laporte
President, Teamsters Canada; International Vice-President, IBT
Jean-François Pelletier
Director of the Retail Brewery and Soft Drink Division of Teamsters Canada President of Local 1999
