Beer in Canada was introduced by European
settlers in the
seventeenth century, and a number of commercial brewers thrived until
Prohibition in Canada. Though short-lived, very few brewers survived, and it was only in the late twentieth century that new breweries opened up. The Canadian Beer industry now plays an important role in
Canadian identity, though globalization of the
brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by or merged with foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers,
Labatt,
Molson and
Sleeman. The result is that
Moosehead has become the largest fully Canadian-owned brewer.