EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002.

I, John K. Sheppard, certify that:

      1.    I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Cott Corporation;

      2.    Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
            statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
            necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
            under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect
            to the period covered by this report;

      3.    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
            information included in this report, fairly present in all material
            respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
            flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in
            this report;

      4.    The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
            establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
            defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal
            control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
            13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

                        (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
                  caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed
                  under our supervision, to ensure that material information
                  relating to the registrant, including its consolidated
                  subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
                  entities, particularly during the period in which this report
                  is being prepared;

                        (b) Designed such internal control over financial
                  reporting, or caused such internal control over financial
                  reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide
                  reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial
                  reporting and the preparation of financial statements for
                  external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
                  accounting principles;

                        (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
                  disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this
                  report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the
                  disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the
                  period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

                        (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the
                  registrant's internal control over financial reporting that
                  occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter
                  (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an
                  annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably
                  likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control
                  over financial reporting; and



      5.    The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
            based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over
            financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
            committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons
            performing the equivalent functions):

                        (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses
                  in the design or operation of internal control over financial
                  reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the
                  registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report
                  financial information; and

                        (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
                  management or other employees who have a significant role in
                  the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Dated: March 10, 2005                     /s/ John K. Sheppard
                                          ------------------------------
                                          John K. Sheppard
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer


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