Dominion Brewery

Closed in 1936 RELATED 2026-09-24: Regal Brewery, Hamilton (regal-brewery-hamilton) — the Hamilton Brewing Association that bought this brewery in 1926; and Cosgrave (cosgrave-brewery-toronto), where this brewery's production went in 1936.

A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.

1. 1877
   Founded by Robert Davies; the new brewery opens the following year

   Wikipedia, relaying St. John (2014) pp. 260–261, gives 1877 as the founding and says "the new brewery opened in 1878". The City of Toronto's exhibit gives 1878 as the opening. The two are most likely the same sequence described from either end and both are recorded; the archive's founded year stays 1878, which is the date the building opened. The book has not been consulted.

2. 1878
   Opens on Queen Street East, west of Sumach

   City of Toronto: "The Dominion Brewery, located on Queen Street East just west of Sumach Street, was opened in 1878 by Robert Davies (1849–1916)." Davies had joined his brother Thomas Jr. at the Don Brewery in 1871 — see [don-brewery-toronto] — so this is the same man seven years on. Ales and porters first; St. John (via Wikipedia, unconsulted) adds that German experts were hired to brew lager.

3. 1885
   An award for India Pale Ale

   Reported by Wikipedia from St. John (2014) pp. 264–265, which also names White Label Ale as the brewery's best-known beer. The awarding body is not given and the book has not been read, so this is recorded as a claim to check, not an award the archive asserts.

4. 1926
   Into the Canadian Brewing Corporation — by two different accounts

   CONTRADICTION, preserved. City of Toronto: "In 1926, the Dominion Brewery became part of the newly formed Canadian Brewing Corporation Ltd. Soon after, it was acquired by E.P. Taylor's Brewing Corporation of Ontario Ltd." Wikipedia from St. John (2014) p. 276: "In 1926, the brewery was sold to the Hamilton Brewing Association", which merged into Canadian Brewing Corporation. Same year, different mechanism and a different intermediate party. Neither is asserted over the other.

5. 1930
   Canadian Brewing Corporation merges into E.P. Taylor's conglomerate

   Wikipedia from Rohmer (1978) pp. 54–55: Canadian Brewing Corporation "was merged in 1930 with the Brewing Company of Ontario … conglomerate being set up by E. P. Taylor". The City of Toronto records that by the end of 1930 Taylor's group had taken ten breweries producing 26% of all the beer sold in Ontario. Rohmer has not been consulted.

6. 1936
   The Queen Street plant closes; the beer moves to Cosgrave

   City of Toronto: "the brewery operation on Queen Street did not [survive] and the plant closed in 1936." Wikipedia from St. John (2014) p. 279 gives the mechanism: "In 1936, Taylor moved production of Davies' beer to the Cosgrave Brewery" — the same Cosgrave that had acquired Toronto Brewing & Malting in 1917, see [toronto-brewing-and-malting-co]. The name survived the plant.

7. 1981
   The surviving wings converted to commercial space

   Wikipedia from St. John (2014) p. 279: "The brewery's west wing and south main wing are both still in existence, having been converted to commercial space in 1981." A separate account reports a 1987–1990 renovation by The Sorbara Group with Easton/Phillips Development Corporation; that may be a second phase or a competing date and is not resolved here.