Craft beer that celebrates Canada where every one of Old Tomorrow’s beers are brewed for everyone and celebrates uniquely Canadian flavours that they are proud to call their own. This is the landing statement that appears on the Old Tomorrow’s website and the team is embracing reconciliation efforts with Canada’s Indigenous people and making their best efforts to improve Canada’s relationship with the Indigenous Community. The first step is a modification to the company name from Old Tomorrow to Tomorrow Brew Co.

According to a statement on the company’s website, the name change reflects our optimism for the future and a better tomorrow for all Canadians. We believe that even small actions like this can make a big difference and contribute to the growing recognition that we all need to be more sensitive to the needs of Canada’s Indigenous population.

Starting as a family business back in 2014, the goal was to bring Canadians together to celebrate what’s great about Canada through new, locally-brewed craft beers that reflect Canada’s unique identity and culture.  As proud Canadians, the name “Old Tomorrow” was chosen for three symbolic reasons.  First, it was one of Sir John A. Macdonald’s many nicknames and he was a key figure in Canada’s Confederation. Second, the company was founded by a mother and son team and “Old Tomorrow” spoke to our sense of legacy and inter-generational partnership. And finally, “Old Tomorrow” conveyed a sense of history while working to build a better tomorrow.

However, since the founding, there has been considerable learning and understanding about Sir John A’s role in the creation of the Residential School system and the horrible impacts that system has had and continues to have on the Indigenous people and communities within Canada.

“We believe that it’s crucial for all Canadians to learn from the past … and to undertake action to forge a better future.  We seek to move our company forward in a direction that embraces all people living within Canada, especially Canada’s Indigenous people.  We regret that our company name “Old Tomorrow” has offended some people, as this was not our intention and we are sorry for our ignorance.  We have undertaken a great deal of engagement and listening, which has led to considerable reflection on how to best move forward.  We’d like to share with you our plan to contribute towards Canada’s reconciliation process,” said the statement on the company’s website on September 2.

To date the changes the company has made:

We have been phasing out Sir John A’s face on our packaging over the past several years. We have not launched a beer since 2019 with his reference. As of September 2021, our last product with his face on it (Monty’s Aged Ryed Ale) will be fully transitioned. We would have like to have achieved this sooner but due to the impacts of the pandemic on our small company, this has taken longer than planned.

Over the coming months, all Old Tomorrow-named products will see their name change to Tomorrow Brew Co. to complete this transition. There will be a period of time where both company names may be in the market, and we will work to transition this as quickly as possible. This name change does not affect any of our award-winning recipes or actual product names.

Our website will update to tomorrowbrewco.com and our social media handles will transition to @TomorrowBrewCo on Instagram & Twitter, effective September 2nd, 2021.

We’ve been actively building relationships and dialogue with the Indigenous community to listen and seek feedback on the next steps as to how our company can positively contribute to reconciliation.

Our original beer, Canadian Pale Ale, which directly referenced Sir John A, has been discontinued.

Going Forward:

We have reviewed the Truth & Reconciliation Report and support the 94 Calls to Action. We will be advocating for the federal government to take action.

We will use our voice to contribute to a positive dialogue on actions we can all undertake for reconciliation and encourage others to review and support these Calls to Action.

Our team fully supports the recent changes to Canada’s oath of citizenship, recently adapted to include language which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We encourage all citizens and companies to become aware of and support this new oath: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2021/06/canadas-oath-of-citizenship-now-recognizes-first-nations-inuit-and-metis-rights.html 

In late 2020, we launched a new Brew Aid charity beer series to heighten awareness and funds for important causes that can help make Canada’s “tomorrow” better for all Canadians.  To date, we have raised over $8,000 for community initiatives and are planning to engage with  Indigenous Communities to understand how we can support their priorities while being sensitive to historical legacy and the role alcohol has played in Canada’s colonial history.

We intend to continue to listen and take real action to make tomorrow better for everyone. We are passionate about saluting Canada with great-tasting locally-made craft beers that offer unique takes on popular Canadian flavours while striving to contribute in a positive way towards reconciliation.  

Image courtesy of Tomorrow Brew Co.