Archive record · Brewery
Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Also known as Shea's Brewery
- Founded
- 1926
- Closed
- 1957
- Archive ID
- TB-JZF068SV
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
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From the record
Summary
Historical production brewery. The McDonagh & Shea business was reincorporated in 1926 as Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited. Labatt acquired a controlling 91% stake in 1953, but federal brewery lists continued to report Shea's as the Winnipeg brewery through 1957. The successor Labatt's Manitoba Brewery Limited appears in the 1958 federal list.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
The middle of Winnipeg's longest brewing line. Reincorporated out of McDonagh & Shea in 1926, it ran under the Shea name for thirty-one years — including four after Labatt bought a controlling 91% stake in 1953, because the federal brewery lists went on reporting Shea's as the Winnipeg brewery right through 1957. The Labatt's Manitoba Brewery Limited name does not appear until the 1958 list. That four-year gap between owning a brewery and renaming it is precisely the sort of thing that survives only in paperwork, and it is why the archive dates ownership and identity separately.
Ownership & corporate history
- Subsidiary of John Labatt Limited1953
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Labatt acquired control before corporate rename. Source: SRC-CA-1798; SRC-CA-1799
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
Where it brewed
- 137 Colony Street, Winnipeg, MBWinnipeg, Manitoba
PRODUCTION
Operated by Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited
Site detail
Pass 11 lineage recovery. The McDonagh & Shea business was reincorporated in 1926 as Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited. Labatt acquired a controlling 91% stake in 1953, but federal brewery lists continued to report Shea's as the Winnipeg brewery through 1957. The successor Labatt's Manitoba Brewery Limited appears in the 1958 federal list.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1926Reincorporated from McDonagh & Shea
Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited.
- 1953Labatt takes 91%
A controlling stake — but the Shea name stays on the federal lists.
- 1958Becomes Labatt's Manitoba
The successor name first appears in the 1958 federal list.
The People
Behind the beer
MHS biography records Shea entering brewing in September 1887 with McDonagh & Shea.
WCPI archival advertisement dated c.1932 explicitly identifies John T. Boyd as President of Shea's Brewery. Preserve the role at the dated advertisement context; do not assume an undated full presidency span without additional corporate records.
The Beer Library
Beers
Shea's Select
RetiredLager
MHS identifies Shea's Select as signature lager of industrial brewery. (HISTORICAL / HERITAGE BRAND) [Canada Pass 83]
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How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1926Founded
- 1953Labatt takes 91%
A controlling stake — but the Shea name stays on the federal lists.
No current parent in the archive's records — the moves above are history, not present ownership.
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's Manitoba master, Pass 26, which cited https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/featured/2021/01/31/barley-bootleggers-and-... for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's Manitoba master, Pass 26 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-19Claim last checked 2026-08-19 - historyProbable
Lineage dates as recorded in Manitoba Pass 26: 1926, 1953, 1958.
Tally's Manitoba master, Pass 26 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-19Claim last checked 2026-08-19
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.
Straight answers
Common questions about Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited
- Who owns Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited?
- Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited is part of the John Labatt Limited group. The exact current direct legal owner has not been established in this archive. It is based in Winnipeg, Canada.
- Is Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited still independent?
- No. Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited is part of the John Labatt Limited group and is not independent, though its direct legal owner has not been established.
- When was Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited acquired?
- 1953. A controlling stake — but the Shea name stays on the federal lists.
- Is Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited still open?
- No. Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited has closed (1957). Historical production brewery. The McDonagh & Shea business was reincorporated in 1926 as Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited. Labatt acquired a controlling 91% stake in 1953, but federal brewery lists continued to report Shea's as the Winnipeg brewery through 1957. The successor Labatt's Manitoba Brewery Limited appears in the 1958 federal list.
- When was Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited founded?
- Shea's Winnipeg Brewery Limited was founded in 1926 in Winnipeg, Canada.
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