The challenge

Ontario’s distillery industry is composed of vertically integrated “grain-to-bottle” manufacturers who source locally grown cereal grains which are then mashed, fermented, distilled and matured on site. The resulting products, distilled spirits, count among the highest value-added goods within the agricultural and processed agri-food sectors. Distilled spirits manufacturers generate economic activity and employment, particularly in rural, agricultural regions. In Ontario, they directly employ almost 1,000 people and support a further 2,900 jobs in related and dependent industries and supply an important share of the Canadian market for distilled spirits. In fact, Ontario Spirits manufacturers alone are responsible for over half of the value of total Canadian domestic spirits production. This report comprehensively assesses the value of having and retaining primary distilled spirits manufacturers in Ontario. Our approach consists in quantifying all economic activity generated by the sector in Ontario, as well as how this economic activity translates into tangible impacts for communities. The key findings of the analysis are presented in the table to the right. <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-cf20230 elementor-widget elementor-widget-button" data-id="cf20230" data-element_type="widget" data-widget_type="button.default"> <div class="elementor-widget-container"> <div class="elementor-button-wrapper"><a class="elementor-button-link elementor-button elementor-size-sm" role="button" href="https://beta.cancea.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Economic-Contributions-of-Distilled-Spirits-Manufacturing-in-Ontario.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <span class="elementor-button-content-wrapper"><span class="elementor-button-text">Download the Report</span></span> </a></div> </div> </div>