Five Years of Cider Canada: Building a National Voice for Canadian Cider

April 20, 2026 marked five years since Cider Canada / Cidre Canada was incorporated. What began as an effort to give cider makers a stronger national voice has developed into an organization connecting producers, programs and industry partners across Canada.

A Growing Industry

Canadian cider has changed significantly over the past decade. Hundreds of producers now make cider across the country, from small orchard-based businesses to larger companies distributing products nationally. Producers are working with Canadian fruit, planting cider-specific apples, developing new styles and building cider destinations from Vancouver Island to Atlantic Canada.

Why a National Organization?

As the industry grew, so did the need for national coordination. Cider Canada / Cidre Canada was incorporated on April 20, 2021. One of the issues that helped bring the industry together was federal excise treatment. Producers needed a national organization capable of representing their interests and explaining how cider differed from other beverage-alcohol sectors.

From Advocacy to Industry Development

That advocacy role remains important, but the organization has grown far beyond it. Today, Cider Canada’s work includes:

• government relations and advocacy
• education
• Canadian Cider Awards
• consumer awareness
• industry research
• cider quality initiatives
• market development
• international trade
• Ciders of Canada
• partnerships
• national collaboration

By June 2026, the organization listed 169 members.

What Comes Next

The organization’s next phase is increasingly focused on infrastructure that can help the sector mature: Cider Quality Assurance, Canadian cider terminology and consumer language, professional education, export-market development, national data, National Cider Month and deeper collaboration with provincial cider organizations.

Cider Canada has also created Mead Canada / Hydromel Canada, bringing another small Canadian fermented-beverage sector into a national collaborative structure.

Five years is still young for a national association. But the goal that led to Cider Canada’s creation remains the same: Canadian producers can accomplish more when they work together.