Archive record · Brewery
O'Keefe Brewing Company — Saskatoon Brewery
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Founded
- 1956
- Closed
- 1973
- Archive ID
- TB-4EMW0X2H
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
Who owns this brewery?
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Tally Answers Beta
- Who owns this brewery?
- Canadian Breweries Limited (since 1956)Verified
From the record
Summary
Status: CLOSED. Historical operating phase at the 1927 Saskatoon brewery site. Canadian Breweries Limited bought Drewry's Saskatchewan operations in 1955; Great Western's official history states the brewery was acquired and operated as O'Keefe Brewing from 1956. Canadian Breweries was acquired by Rothmans in 1969 and renamed Carling O'Keefe in 1973. [Canada Pass 26] NOTE 2026-09-24: the record's 1973 end is the corporate renaming to Carling O'Keefe; this plant brewed under O'Keefe / Carling O'Keefe until the 1989 merger and the employee buyout. A person should decide whether the end year moves to 1989.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Ownership & corporate history
- Acquired by Canadian Breweries Limited1956
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0399 ("OWNER / CORPORATE PARENT"). The Saskatoon plant's whole corporate procession, now joined to records the archive already holds: built 1927 as Hub City Brewing, Western Canada Brewing 1930, Drewery's 1932, acquired 1956 and operated as O'Keefe Brewing (Canadian Breweries had owned the O'Keefe name since 1934; Rothmans renamed the group Carling O'Keefe in 1973), until the 1989 Molson merger doomed the plant — and sixteen employees bought it in 1990 as Great Western, whose Original 16 events this archive resolved earlier today.
- Controlled by Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Limited1969 – 1973
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Government of Canada corporate background confirms Rothmans association/acquisition of Canadian Breweries; exact site-level legal title not inferred.
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1956O'Keefe takes Drewry's Saskatoon plant
"In 1956, the brewery was acquired by O'Keefe Brewing (which would later become Carling O'Keefe) and was operated under that name until 1989" — the 1927 building at 510 1st Avenue North (Hub City → Western Canada Brewing → Drewry's). A purchase, not a new build; 1973 is the national Carling O'Keefe renaming, not a Saskatoon event.
- 1989Molson merger; sixteen employees buy the brewery
When Carling O'Keefe merged with Molson in 1989 the merged company planned to close the plant and "terminate over 40 employees"; "a group of sixteen employees and management succeeded in purchasing the brewery from Molson, at which point The Great Western Brewing Company was formed in 1990". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan's chain: Hub City Brewing (then Western Canada Brewing, Drewry's Ltd., Western Canada Breweries, O'Keefe Brewing Co., Carling-O'Keefe Breweries of Canada, Molson Breweries, and finally Great Western Brewery).
Straight answers
Common questions about O'Keefe Brewing Company — Saskatoon Brewery
- Is O'Keefe Brewing Company — Saskatoon Brewery still open?
- No. O'Keefe Brewing Company — Saskatoon Brewery has closed (1973). Status: CLOSED. Historical operating phase at the 1927 Saskatoon brewery site. Canadian Breweries Limited bought Drewry's Saskatchewan operations in 1955; Great Western's official history states the brewery was acquired and operated as O'Keefe Brewing from 1956. Canadian Breweries was acquired by Rothmans in 1969 and renamed Carling O'Keefe in 1973. [Canada Pass 26] NOTE 2026-09-24: the record's 1973 end is the corporate renaming to Carling O'Keefe; this plant brewed under O'Keefe / Carling O'Keefe until the 1989 merger and the employee buyout. A person should decide whether the end year moves to 1989.
- When was O'Keefe Brewing Company — Saskatoon Brewery founded?
- O'Keefe Brewing Company — Saskatoon Brewery was founded in 1956 in Saskatoon, Canada.
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