The alliance, the latest in a string of deals by global alcohol and tobacco giants in Canada’s cannabis sector, comes amid booming demand for cannabis and a long-term decline in alcohol consumption and smoking.

AB InBev’s Labatt Breweries of Canada, which makes such brands as Blue, 50, Alexander Keith’s, Kokanee and Budweiser, will work with Tilray’s Canadian cannabis subsidiary, High Park Co., which develops and sells cannabis products in Canada, the companies said in a statement.

Canada, which became the world’s first major country to fully legalize the recreational use of cannabis in October, is expected to approve cannabis-based products including beverages and edibles in October 2019.

“It’s too early to know how big cannabinoid-based beverages will be but we think it’s a massive opportunity and it’s something we’re interested in investing aggressively in,” Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy told Reuters Wednesday.

AB InBev and Tilray said they each plan to invest up to $50 million to research drinks with cannabidiol (CBD), a component of cannabis that does not cause intoxication, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the substance that makes people high (all figures US$).

Discussions about commercialization are likely to follow, and Tilray’s objective is to have beverages ready when they become legal in Canada, Kennedy said.

A gradual increase in legalized recreational use of cannabis for adults in U.S. states and in medical cannabis around the world has sparked investment and partnership deals for Canadian companies.

On Tuesday, Tilray said it will work with Sandoz, a unit of Swiss drug company Novartis, to develop and distribute medical marijuana worldwide.

Tilray is also exploring opportunities to make acquisitions in 2019, both within and outside the cannabis space, Kennedy said.

In the cannabis industry’s largest investment, Corona beer maker Constellation Brands added $4 billion to its $200 million investment in Canopy Growth in August to help fund the Canadian cannabis producer’s global expansion.

In a more modest deal that same month, Molson Coors, the No. 2 beer maker in North America, struck a Canadian joint venture with marijuana producer Hexo Corp. to make cannabis drinks.

In the tobacco industry’s first major foray into cannabis, Altria Group said this month it would invest $1.8 billion in Cronos Group for up to 55 per cent of the Canadian cannabis producer.

— Reporting for Reuters by Susan Taylor and Nichola Saminather in Toronto.

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Oshawa’s manufacturing plant, which employs some 2,500 workers, will install component parts and do final assembly of pickup trucks using bodies shipped from a GM plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the sources told Reuters.

Two sources said that Oshawa will do final assembly on the Silverado pickup truck and one source said the work will begin in January, 2018.

It was unclear if or when the Oshawa plant will do full production of the pickup and sources did not know what production volume the assembly represents. GM representatives declined to comment ahead of the union’s ratification vote.

GM reached a tentative labour deal with the autoworkers’ union, Unifor, early Tuesday that prevents the closure of Oshawa and brings some engine assembly from Mexico to GM’s St. Catherines’ facility.

Unifor leaders are expected to outline details of the agreement to members Sunday.

The agreement includes “hundreds of millions” in investments, Unifor said. The car plant will become capable of producing trucks under the deal, it said.

Unifor president Jerry Dias would not comment on any new production for the Oshawa plant, but said Wednesday that Oshawa will continue building the Impala and already had a commitment to build an updated version of the Cadillac XTS.

Sales of large pickup trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado and rival Ford’s F-series line have been strong amid a recovery in the U.S. housing market and stable fuel prices. Analysts and company executives say the vehicles are among the most profitable for the Detroit automakers.

— Reporting for Reuters by Susan Taylor in Toronto, with additional reporting by Allison Martell in Toronto, Allison Lampert in Montreal and Bernie Woodall in Detroit.

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At one minute after midnight on Tuesday, the union and company will be in a legal position for a strike or lockout. But a work stoppage won’t happen immediately because both parties must first give 72 hours’ notice.

A strike or lockout would disrupt a crucial network for moving goods as diverse as cars and crude oil. Negotiations with government-appointed mediators resumed on Oct. 21 after earlier efforts with conciliators to reach an agreement failed.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union, which represents conductors, trainmen, yardmen and traffic co-ordinators, has said talks stalled on CN demands for concessions that would force members to work longer hours with less rest time between trips. CN has said none of its proposals would compromise worker health or safety.

“CN remains optimistic that it can negotiate a settlement with the (Teamsters) to avoid labour disruption in Canada,” railway spokesman Mark Hallman told Reuters.

He would not comment on whether CN, which reported bigger-than-expected quarterly profits last week, is preparing a contingency plan in the event of a strike or lockout.

A spokesman for the union could not immediately be reached for comment.

Any service disruption would be particularly problematic for Canadian grain growers, who must move a record grain and oilseeds harvest.

The Grain Growers of Canada asked the minister of labour in an Oct. 25 letter to take “early action to head off this work stoppage” and “swift and decisive” action in the event of a strike.

The Canadian government has intervened several times in recent years to force striking rail and airline workers back to work. Last May, it used legislation to end a strike at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, CN’s smaller rival.

The contract dispute follows a recent CN derailment that renewed public concern over the safety of rail transport for fuel and other hazardous materials.

CN’s mainline through Alberta was blocked for several days last week after 13 cars on a mixed-freight train derailed. One car containing highly flammable propane exploded and three others burst into flames.

There were no injuries, but the accident came just months after 47 people died when a crude oil train derailed and exploded in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

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