Our History

The Canada Dry story begins with pharmacist and chemist John J. McLaughlin, who opened a small plant in Toronto, Canada in 1890 to manufacture soda water, which he sold to drugstores in siphons as a mixer for fruit juices and flavoured extracts.

After hundreds of painstaking experiments, McLaughlin achieved the perfect formula for his Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale in 1904. In the early days, corner drug stores were the predominant outlets for the carbonated beverage industry. McLaughlin changed all that by developing mass bottling techniques and serving Canada Dry where people gather in masses, such as ballparks and beaches. In fact, Canada Dry pioneered many of the products and practices now considered standards throughout the beverage industry.

In 1923, P. D. Saylor and Associates purchased the entire company from the McLaughlin family and formed the public corporation, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Inc. Consumer demand soon outgrew the production capacity of the New York City plant, which sparked a program of national expansion. It was during this growth that the famous "down from Canada came tales of a wonderful beverage" advertising campaign was developed.

There's no doubt that the pleasant qualities of ginger ale made it the perfect mixer to mask the taste of home brew during Prohibition. For Canada Dry, the Roaring '20s roared with success. Even the high price of 35 cents for a 355ml bottle didn't hinder the progress of sales. The '30s saw the introduction of Canada Dry's Sparkling Water, quickly followed by Tonic Water.

During the '50s and '60s, Canada Dry was the first of the major soft drink companies to introduce sugar-free drinks and put soft drink beverages in cans.

For Canada Dry, the '80s was also a time of several ownership changes. In 1986, Canada Dry found a home when it was acquired by Cadbury Schweppes of London. Today, the Canada Dry brand is part of Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc., an integrated refreshment beverage business marketing more than 50 beverage brands throughout North America.

Canada Dry has continued to innovate with the launch of Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale in March 2008. It paired the crisp taste of green tea with the clean, refreshing taste of Ginger Ale and consumers love it!

Perfectly blended. Brilliantly sparkling. Enjoy the crisp, refreshing flavour of Canada Dry White Tea Ginger Ale with Raspberry combines  the goodness of white tea, ginger ale and a hint of delicious raspberry.

Canada Dry is available in a variety of flavours including, ginger ale, diet ginger ale, club soda, tonic, green tea ginger ale and cranberry ginger ale at the holidays.

Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale was the winner of the 2009 Grand Prix award in the innovative beverage category, and the Product of the Year Canada winner for 2010 in the Green Tea Beverages category.

Today, Canada Dry is part of Canada Dry Mott's, a subsidiary of Plano, Texas-based
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, an integrated refreshment beverage business marketing more than 50 beverage brands throughout North America.