Labatt Brewing Company

The largest brewer in Canada, and not Canadian. Labatt has been brewing in London, Ontario since 1847 — older than the country it sells to — and produced the beer that was Canada's best-selling for nearly thirty years. Interbrew bought it in 1995, and through the mergers that followed it became a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Today Labatt brews Budweiser for the Canadian market: the national brewer of Canada, making an American lager, owned from Leuven. Blue and 50 are still genuinely part of the country's furniture, which is exactly what makes the ownership question worth asking rather than shrugging at.

The founding thesisJohn Kinder Labatt bought a half share in a small London, Ontario brewery in 1847. Six generations of consolidation later it is Canada's largest brewing company, and Belgian-owned.

1. 1847
   Founded in London, Ontario

   John Kinder Labatt takes a half share in a small brewery on the Thames in London, Ontario — twenty years before Confederation.

2. 1933
   The yeast strain

   The ale yeast still used in Labatt 50 goes into service, and has been propagated continuously ever since — one of the longest-running yeast lineages in North American brewing.

3. 1950
   Labatt 50

   Launched to mark fifty years of partnership between the founder's grandsons. It went on to be Canada's best-selling beer for nearly three decades.

4. 1951
   Labatt Pilsner

   The beer that becomes Blue launches as Labatt Pilsner — nicknamed for its label, and for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers it sponsored.

5. 1968
   Renamed Blue

   Labatt Pilsner formally becomes Labatt Blue, and grows into the company's flagship.

6. 1995
   Sold to Interbrew

   Belgium's Interbrew buys Labatt — the entity that becomes InBev in 2004 and Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2008. Canada's largest brewer passes permanently out of Canadian ownership.

7. 2000s
   Brewing Budweiser at home

   Through its parent, Labatt brews and distributes Budweiser and Bud Light for Canada. Budweiser becomes the country's top-selling beer brand, made by the company that once defined Canadian beer.

1. 1847Founded

   John Kinder Labatt bought a half share in a small London, Ontario brewery in 1847. Six generations of consolidation later it is Canada's largest brewing company, and Belgian-owned.

2. 1995Sold to Interbrew

   Belgium's Interbrew buys Labatt — the entity that becomes InBev in 2004 and Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2008. Canada's largest brewer passes permanently out of Canadian ownership.

Sources

1. controlConfirmed

   Labatt Brewing Company is controlled by Founder / family.

   Anheuser-Busch InBev — SEC filing · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission · 2026-02

   PrimaryHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05

Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.