At age 18, John Molson sailed on a leaking ship from England to Canada, with a thirst for a better beer in a new country. In 1786, he founded the Molson Brewery, the oldest brewery in North America, and subsequently, Canada’s second oldest company.

When Molson saw that the only hospital in Montreal had a mere 30 beds, he took it upon himself to lobby support to build the first public hospital in the city. By May of that same year, the Montreal General Hospital was opened.

In the spirit of bringing people together, John Molson helped create the first ever railway connecting Canadians to our neighbours in the south. The Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad made the journey from Montreal to New York much faster.

The Molson family’s contributions to Canadian banking began with John Molson acquiring an American bank and transforming it into the fully Canadian-owned Montreal Bank. In 1855, brothers William and John Molson, Jr. founded Molsons Bank to help a growing economy flourish. In subsequent years, younger generations of the Molson family would lead Molsons Bank, continuing the legacy of this bold venture into finance.

Molson Export entered the Canadian market in 1903 as a refreshing, well-balanced golden ale. With ingredients dating back to the foundation of the Molson Brewery, Export has a history as rich as its taste.

In 1927, Molson helped establish the first ever bottle-return program. It was an early step in our commitment towards sustainability and waste reduction that continues to this day.

In 1950, Molson installed Quebec’s largest functioning clock on the side of their Montreal factory. Visible from 12 km away, the Molson clock is a staple of the Montreal skyline, counting great moments in the city’s history for 68 years and counting. Now, the iconic hexagon shape of the clock has been integrated into the new Molson branding as a celebration of our heritage.

In 1957, Molson began to pour our support into hockey by co-purchasing the Canadian Arena, which included the Montreal Forum and the Montreal Canadiens. This marked the beginning of a partnership that culminated with brothers Geoff, Andrew and Justin Molson taking full ownership of the iconic team in 2009.

Molson Canadian came to market in 1959, supported with a TV campaign that asked “What do you want from a lager?”, and a fresh-tasting beer that proved we had listened. It was the arrival of an iconic mainstay in the Canadian beer market.

Molson’s ties with the NHL strengthened in 1973, when they began a partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs that has been going strong for over 40 years and counting.

As part of our effort to preserve Canada’s environment, Molson founded The Red Leaf Project. With a team of volunteers, we planted thousands of trees, collected more than hundreds of bags of litter and removed invasive species from parks across the country.

In 2015, red fridges filled with Molson Canadian started turning up around the world. As Canadian travelers and locals came together over rounds of Molson, they showed the world that Canadian pride goes a long way.

Molson has always strived to use ingredients that reflect our Canadian pride, like select Prairie barley and Canadian water. In 2018, we started using select homegrown hops from Chilliwack, British Columbia, where we will be opening our newest brewery, adding to our list of Canadian breweries in St. John’s, Moncton, Montreal, and Toronto.