Stray Dog Brewing navigates tariff squeeze as two Ottawa breweries close
Aluminum can costs jumped 24% after U.S. retaliatory tariffs, forcing smaller breweries to rethink pricing as Kichesippi and Orléans Brewing shut down.
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Stray Dog Brewing Company in Orléans is watching its packaging costs climb steeply and larger competitors disappear. Before U.S. tariffs took effect Tuesday, September 8, an aluminum can cost 19 cents. Now it costs 23.6 cents. Lids rose from 4 cents to 6 cents. For a brewery using 3,000 to 4,000 cans every two to three weeks, that math adds up fast.
"It doesn't sound like much," co-owner Marc Plante said Saturday as the brewery marked its ninth anniversary. "But when you multiply that by the thousands, they start to add up."
Stray Dog is not alone in feeling the pressure. Kichesippi Beer Co. shut down in March. Orléans Brewing Co. closed its doors in August, citing rising costs, increased rent and mounting pressures. Both closures weigh on Plante's mind. "It really kind of gives you pause when you see a larger, more established microbrewery like Kichesippi Beer closing," he said. "Like, OK, well, what did they do? And what are we doing differently, and how can we avoid that situation?"
Stray Dog now buys exclusively from Elk Packaging, a Canadian supplier. The brewery is too small to order in bulk and store a trailer of empty cans, so it depends on suppliers who absorb tariff costs and pass them downstream. Errol Mendes, a constitutional and international law professor at uOttawa, said the latest U.S. retaliatory tariffs — which responded to Canada's own tariffs — are designed to inflict maximum pain on small to medium businesses, though the full impact may take time to surface.
Charles-Étienne Beaudry, a uOttawa political science professor and author of "The Return of the Enlightenment", argues the federal government should step in. He recommends Innovation, Science, Economic Development Canada establish a hotline where businesses can consult on pricing decisions and supply-chain pivots. "It's important for businesses to carefully study what would be the right new price in order to lower their profit margin by a small amount, while also not losing their customer base," Beaudry said.
Businesses with warehouse inventory may survive the immediate shock without changing suppliers, Beaudry noted. But for just-in-time operations like Stray Dog, the tariff wave is arriving now.
What are Stray Dog's options if Elk Packaging raises prices further or capacity tightens?
Will the federal government actually create the business hotline Beaudry recommends, and when?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
How much did aluminum can costs increase after the U.S. tariffs?
Aluminum can costs at Stray Dog Brewing jumped from 19 cents to 23.6 cents per can after U.S. tariffs took effect on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, an increase of 24 percent.
How often does Stray Dog Brewing need to order cans?
Stray Dog Brewing uses 3,000 to 4,000 cans every two to three weeks and buys exclusively from Elk Packaging, a Canadian supplier, because the brewery is too small to order in bulk and store inventory.
