A new count of every registered business in the country shows how a handful of giants and millions of micro-firms make up the Canadian economy, and where the data needs a careful read.
The largest companies in Canada are led by the federal government, Royal Bank of Canada and Alimentation Couche-Tard, according to a commercial business-data index that counted 4,270,380 companies and businesses across the country as of November 2, 2026. The tally, published on November 6, also confirms how heavily the economy leans on very small operators: two out of every three firms with a known headcount employ fewer than five people.
The snapshot is drawn from Corporations Canada filings and other official registers, supplemented with sole proprietors, branch locations and public bodies that a standard corporate register does not capture. It offers a rare single view of who earns the most, who employs the most and where Canadian businesses are actually based.
How the Largest Companies in Canada Rank by Revenue
Measured by yearly revenue, the Government of Canada sits far ahead of every other entity in the dataset, at roughly US$357.3 billion. Among corporations, the top ten is dominated by banking, energy, food retail and auto parts. In total, 791 Canadian companies report more than US$1 billion in annual revenue, and 5,490 report more than US$100 million.
| Rank | Organization | Base | Yearly revenue (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Government of Canada | Ottawa | $357.3B |
| 2 | Royal Bank of Canada | Toronto | $74.5B |
| 3 | Alimentation Couche-Tard | Laval | $53.7B |
| 4 | Desjardins Holding Financier | Montréal | $48.7B |
| 5 | Cinram International Income Fund | Toronto | $48.4B |
| 6 | Enbridge | Calgary | $46.4B |
| 7 | Bank of Montreal | Montréal | $45.6B |
| 8 | George Weston Limited | Toronto | $43.8B |
| 9 | Magna International | Aurora | $42.0B |
| 10 | Cenovus Energy | Calgary | $38.7B |
The broader, sortable list in the same dataset places other heavyweights close behind. McKesson Canada, based in Saint-Laurent, Que., is recorded at about US$251.1 billion, while Brookfield Corporation (US$61.3 billion), Santé Québec (US$60.0 billion), and the provincial governments of British Columbia (US$58.8 billion) and Alberta (US$57.7 billion) also appear near the top. Further down the list are Brookfield Business Partners, Loblaw Companies, the Bank of Nova Scotia, National Bank of Canada Financial and Suncor Energy.
Calgary’s Energy Names Hold Their Ground
Three of the top 24 revenue entries are headquartered in Calgary: Enbridge, Cenovus Energy and Suncor Energy, which together account for well over US$120 billion in recorded revenue. For a city often discussed in terms of diversification, the figures are a reminder that oil and gas still anchor its corporate weight.
The city’s footprint goes beyond the energy giants. Calgary ranks second nationally by number of companies, with 292,372 firms, ahead of Montréal (217,466) and behind only Toronto (439,417). That density is consistent with the entrepreneurial momentum Brand Magazine has covered in pieces such as how growing local businesses shape the cities around them.
Canada’s Biggest Employers, From Grocery Chains to Telecoms
Ranked by headcount, the federal government again comes first with 367,772 staff. The private-sector names that follow show how much of Canada’s employment is tied to food retail, manufacturing, banking and technology services.
| Rank | Employer | Base | Staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Government of Canada | Ottawa | 367,772 |
| 2 | George Weston Limited | Toronto | 222,000 |
| 3 | Magna International | Aurora | 166,000 |
| 4 | Alimentation Couche-Tard | Laval | 149,000 |
| 5 | Empire Company | Stellarton | 128,000 |
| 6 | Telus | Vancouver | 106,400 |
| 7 | Toronto-Dominion Bank | Toronto | 101,759 |
| 8 | Metro Inc. | Montréal | 97,000 |
| 9 | Royal Bank of Canada | Toronto | 91,398 |
| 10 | CGI Inc. | Montréal | 90,250 |
Only 32 Canadian companies list more than 10,000 employees, and 2,560 list more than 500. For parent and holding companies, the recorded figure usually reflects the entire group worldwide, not only Canadian staff.
Among public bodies counted separately, the City of Ottawa is the largest with 16,000 staff, followed by the CHU de Québec–Université Laval (8,964), a regional Quebec health and social services centre in Saguenay (8,921) and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (6,542).
Why Some Headline Figures Need a Second Look
Company-level databases record figures against specific legal entities, and that produces some striking mismatches. Brookfield Corporation is listed with US$61.3 billion in revenue but only five employees, and the Bank of Nova Scotia entry shows 30 staff against more than US$41 billion in revenue. An Ontario import-export firm with four recorded employees appears with nearly US$57.7 billion in revenue.
Founding years can also reflect a recent registration rather than a company’s real history, with George Weston listed under 2021 and Suncor under 2024. Several provinces also appear under duplicate spellings, which is why the dataset reports 14 provinces rather than Canada’s ten provinces and three territories.
Caution: These figures come from a third-party compilation, are reported in U.S. dollars and have not been checked against company filings. Readers making investment or business decisions should verify numbers through audited financial statements.
Two in Three Canadian Firms Employ Fewer Than Five People
Beneath the giants sits a vast base of small operators. Of the 3,349,576 businesses with a known headcount, the breakdown looks like this:
- Micro (fewer than 10 staff): 2,932,012 firms, or 88%
- Small (10 to 49): 365,157 firms, about 11%
- Medium (50 to 499): 49,847 firms, about 1%
- Large (500 or more): 2,560 firms, under 0.1%
That means 99.92% of Canadian companies qualify as small or medium-sized enterprises. Within the micro group, 2,234,085 firms, or 67% of those with a known headcount, have between one and four employees.
Revenue tells the same story. Some 42% of firms with recorded revenue fall between US$100,000 and US$500,000 a year, and another 31% between US$500,000 and US$1 million. Only 23% reach the US$1 million to US$5 million band. For comparison with trends south of the border, see our look at what new U.S. small business statistics mean for Canadian companies.
Ontario, Québec and Alberta Hold Three-Quarters of All Businesses
Ontario is home to 1,692,317 companies, about 40% of the national total. Québec follows with 845,042 (20%), then Alberta with 736,699 (17%) and British Columbia with 531,866 (12%).
| Province | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 1,692,317 | 40% |
| Québec | 845,042 | 20% |
| Alberta | 736,699 | 17% |
| British Columbia | 531,866 | 12% |
| Manitoba | 120,589 | 3% |
| Saskatchewan | 105,830 | 2% |
| Nova Scotia | 87,566 | 2% |
| New Brunswick | 46,370 | 1% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 28,478 | 0.7% |
| Prince Edward Island | 18,720 | 0.4% |
Alberta’s share stands out relative to its population, and two of its cities, Calgary and Edmonton (198,004), rank among the country’s four busiest business hubs. Rounding out the top ten cities are Ottawa, Vancouver, Mississauga, Brampton, Winnipeg and Surrey.
Business Services and IT Lead the Sector Count
Among the 3,365,810 companies carrying an industry code, business services and IT is the largest group with 332,475 firms, or 10%. Engineering, accounting and management services follow with 228,725, and construction trades with 179,744.
- Restaurants and bars: 167,827 firms
- Health care: 164,744 firms
- Miscellaneous retail: 161,022 firms
- Membership associations: 154,807 organizations
- Brokers and asset managers: 143,716 firms
- Haulage and warehousing: 122,668 firms
Within those sectors, the biggest employers include WSP Global in engineering (66,500 staff), AtkinsRéalis Canada (26,000) and Stantec Consulting (14,500). In retail, Dollarama leads with 24,945 staff, and in health care, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services records 22,175.
New Registrations Have Slowed Each Year Since 2022
The dataset logs 4,484 new companies registered in Canada so far in 2026, roughly 21 per working day, of which 3,504 are corporations. That follows 46,850 new businesses in 2025. Nearly nine in ten of this year’s newcomers (3,946, or 89%) started with one to four employees, and only 10 launched with 200 or more staff.
The annual trend points downward over the past few years:
- 2022: 128,993 companies founded
- 2023: 105,126
- 2024: 86,987
- 2025: 46,850
As general context, compiled business datasets often add recent registrations with a delay, so the latest years may rise as records are updated. Even so, the steady decline from 2022 to 2024 coincides with a period of higher borrowing costs, a factor we examined in our coverage of the Bank of Canada’s rate hike to 2.5%.
A Top-Heavy Economy Built on Small Operators
Taken together, the numbers show a striking split. Fewer than 800 companies cross the billion-dollar revenue mark, while millions of businesses run with a handful of people and modest sales. Business structure follows the same pattern: 3,982,275 firms, or 93%, operate from a single site, compared with 54,596 head offices and 233,509 branch locations.
By legal form, the count includes 1,834,921 corporations (43% of the total), 97,886 sole proprietorships, 27,390 partnerships and 114,868 non-profit organizations. For readers tracking the Canadian economy, the takeaway is that headline earnings from banks, grocers and energy producers describe only the top layer. Most Canadian businesses look far more like the corner shop or the two-person consultancy than like Royal Bank of Canada.
The Brand Magazine Newsroom covers Canadian business, markets and policy news for brand builders and entrepreneurs. Newsroom reports are produced from published public sources such as company releases and government and regulator publications, and follow our Editorial Standards.
