# Foreign ownership of companies of Canada

Foreign ownership of companies of Canada pertains to the majority-ownership of Canadian-based assets (including businesses and subsidiaries) by non-Canadian individuals or companies, as well as to companies that are effectively owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by non-Canadians. "Non-Canadian," for all intents and purposes, refers to entities based outside Canada and to those who are not Canadian citizens or qualified permanent residents.
Foreign ownership (or 'foreign affiliates') of Canadian companies has long been a controversial political issue in Canada. Concerns regarding the issue generally regard ownership of previously 'Canadian' assets by foreign entities, though the exact definition of 'foreign-owned' is subject of debate.
Foreign majority-owned affiliates contribute significantly to the economy of Canada. In 2016, foreign affiliates accounted for 14% of Canada's gross domestic product and employed 12% of workers.

## Overview

Historically, foreign ownership was a political issue in Canada in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when it was believed by some that U.S. investment had reached new heights (though its levels had actually remained stable for decades), and then in the 1980s, during debates over the Free Trade Agreement.
However, the situation has changed; since in the interim period, Canada itself became a major investor and owner of foreign corporations. Since the 1980s, Canada's levels of investment and ownership in foreign companies have been larger than foreign investment and ownership in Canada. In some smaller countries, such as Montenegro, Canadian investment is sizable enough to make up a major portion of the economy. In Northern Ireland, for example, Canada is the largest foreign investor. By becoming foreign owners themselves, Canadians have become far less politically concerned about investment within Canada.
Something to note is that Canada's largest companies by value, and largest employers, tend to be foreign-owned in a way that is more typical of a developing nation than a G8 member. The best example is the automotive sector, one of Canada's most important industries. It is dominated by American, German, and Japanese automotive giants. Although this situation is not unique to Canada in the global context, it is unique among G8 nations, and many other relatively small nations also have national automotive companies.
In 2004, foreign-controlled corporations accounted for 21.9% of assets held in Canada, and 30.0% of operating revenues yet comprised less than 1% (approx. 8,000) of the total 1.3 million corporations in Canada. Assets of foreign-controlled corporations rose 8.3% to $1.1 trillion in 2004, while those of Canadian-controlled corporations rose 8.9% to $3.9 trillion. All in all, foreign-controlled profits soared to a record $68 billion that year, up 21.7% from 2003. Also that year, foreign-controlled corporations operating revenues in Canada averaged $96 million, compared with less than $2 million for their Canadian-controlled counterparts.
In 2006, 34 Canadian companies were purchased by foreign interests worth $62 billion, nearly 4% of Canada's market value.

### Statistics

In 2016, foreign affiliates accounted for 14% of Canada's gross domestic product and employed 12% of workers. That year, foreign affiliates in the manufacturing sector accounted for 41% of the value added of foreign multinationals operating in Canada, an increase from 38% in 2010.
Value added by foreign majority-owned organizations, by sector :
| Sector | Sector | Value added (CA$billion) | Value added (CA$billion) | Value added (CA$billion) |
| Sector | Sector | 2010 | 2014 | 2016 |
| Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 36.9 | 38.4 | 21.1 |
| Manufacturing - total | Manufacturing - total | 85.5 | 105.3 | 108.6 |
| | Transportation equipment manufacturing | 12.8 | 18.5 | 21.6 |
| | Chemical manufacturing | 9.2 | 13.3 | 15.4 |
| | Petroleum and coal product manufacturing | 10.2 | 14.7 | 7.7 |
| | Other manufacturing | 53.3 | 58.8 | 63.8 |
| Services - total | Services - total | 94.3 | 117.8 | 125.1 |
| | Wholesale trade | 25.1 | 34.4 | 36.8 |
| | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 12.5 | 19.9 | 18.9 |
| | Retail trade | 14.2 | 16.0 | 18.4 |
| | Finance and insurance | 14.2 | 14.4 | 14.9 |
| | Others | 28.3 | 33.3 | 36.1 |
| All sectors - total | All sectors - total | 224.8 | 275.5 | 267.1 |

## Existing foreign-owned companies in Canada

| Company | Foreign owner(s) | Origin of foreign owner | Notes |
| 500px | Visual China Group | China | |
| Aeryon Labs | FLIR Systems | United States | |
| Alludo | KKR | United States | A software and programming company originally called Corel, it was taken over by Vector Capital in August 2003, and acquired by KKR in 2019. It was renamed Alludo in 2022. |
| AltaLink | Berkshire Hathaway Energy | United States | one of Canada's largest electricity transmission companies. |
| AltaSteel | Kyoei Steel | Japan | Kyoei Steel acquired AltaSteel in 2020. |
| Arc'teryx | Amer Sports | Finland | Purchased by Amer Sports in 2005. |
| Asia Pacific Marine Container Lines (Asia Pacific Group Canada) | Leung Maritime Group | China (Hong Kong) | one of Canada's largest cargo transport companies |
| Aviva Canada | Aviva | United Kingdom | |
| Black Press | Carpenter Media Group | United States | Carpenter acquired Black Press in 2024. |
| Boeing Canada | Boeing | United States | |
| BP Canada | BP | United Kingdom | |
| Canada Goose | Bain Capital | United States | Bain Capital became Canada Goose Holdings Inc's majority shareholder in 2013. |
| Cargill Canada | Cargill | United States (Minnesota) | |
| CNOOC Petroleum North America | China National Offshore Oil Corporation | China | Nexen Inc. was one of two Canadian oil and gas companies that the Harper government controversially approved the sale of to foreign state-owned enterprises in 2012; though it stated that future takeovers by SOEs would face new rules, especially in the energy sector. Nexen became a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC on 25 February 2013. |
| Colt Canada | Colt CZ Group | Czech Republic | Founded as Diemaco in 1975, it was acquired by Colt in 2005. |
| Costco Wholesale Canada | Costco | United States (Washington) | Costo's Canadian operations are the 7th-largest private company in Canada as of 2006. |
| Davie Shipbuilding | Inocea Group | United Kingdom | Davie has gone through many ownership changes over the years and has been owned by Inocea since 2012. |
| Delta Hotels | Marriott International | United States | Delta was acquired by Marriott in 2015. |
| Direct Energy | NRG Energy | United States | |
| Dofasco | Arcelor | Luxembourg | Canada's largest steel maker; acquired by Arcelor in January 2006. |
| Dollar Tree Canada | Dollar Tree | United States | Dollar Tree acquired local chain Dollar Giant in 2010 and converted all stores to Dollar Tree. |
| Entertainment One (eOne) | Hasbro | United States | |
| First Choice Haircutters | Regis Corporation | United States | First Choice Haircutters was purchased by Regis Corporation in October 2000. |
| FRHI Hotels & Resorts | Accor | France | Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) was formed in 2006 when Fairmont Hotels and Resorts was acquired by Colony Capital, who subsequently entered into a joint partnership with the Kingdom Holding Company; consolidating Fairmont with their other hotel brands, Raffles and Swissôtel to form FRHI. FRHI in turn became a subsidiary of Accor in 2016. |
| Ford Motor Company of Canada | Ford Motor Company | United States | |
| Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts | Cascade Investment and Kingdom Holding Company | United States and Saudi Arabia | |
| G3 Canada | Bunge Global and Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) | United States and Saudi Arabia | G3 originated as the Canadian Wheat Board and is now a joint venture between Bunge and SALIC with a combined 50.1% shares. |
| General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada | General Dynamics Land Systems (General Dynamics) | United States | |
| General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada | General Dynamics Mission Systems (General Dynamics) | United States | |
| General Electric Canada (formerly Canadian General Electric) | General Electric | United States | a wholly-owned unit of General Electric |
| General Motors Canada | General Motors | United States (Michigan) | Canada's largest automotive manufacturer. General Motors is its indirect parent; it is Canadian-owned according to Ontario Superior Court documents. This also includes CAMI Automotive, an assembly plant wholly-owned by GM Canada. |
| Honda Canada Inc. | Honda | Japan | including Honda of Canada Manufacturing |
| Hudson's Bay Company | NRDC Equity Partners | United States | Hudson's Bay Company has been owned by NRDC since 2008. |
| IBM Canada | IBM | United States | |
| Impala Canada | Impala Platinum | South Africa | North American Palladium was purchased by Impala Platinum in 2019 and rechristened Impala Canada. |
| Imperial Oil | ExxonMobil | United States | ExxonMobil owns around 69.6% of Imperial Oil. |
| Imperial Tobacco Canada | British American Tobacco | United Kingdom | |
| Kia Canada Inc. | Kia Motors | South Korea | |
| Kobo Inc. | Rakuten | Japan | |
| La Senza | Regent LP | United States | In January 2019, L Brands sold the La Senza business to Regent, a Beverly Hills-based private equity firm controlled by investor Michael Reinstein. |
| Labatt Brewing Company | Anheuser-Busch InBev | Belgium | Labatt was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew in 1995, and was eventually absorbed into AB InBev. |
| Lockheed Martin Canada | Lockheed Martin | United States | |
| Lorex | Skywatch | Taiwan | Lorex, a distributor of security systems founded in 1991, was acquired by Skywatch in 2022. |
| Mars Canada | Mars, Inc. | United States | |
| Masonite | KKR | United States | |
| McDonald's Canada | McDonald's | United States | |
| McKesson Canada | McKesson Corporation | United States | McKesson acquired Canadian pharmacy chains Proxim and Uniprix in 2008 and 2017 respectively. |
| Mega Brands | Mattel | United States | |
| Mercedes-Benz Canada | Mercedes-Benz | Germany | |
| Mitel | Searchlight Capital | United States | Mitel was bought by Searchlight Capital in 2018. |
| Mitsui and Company | Mitsui | Japan | |
| Molson Brewery | Molson Coors | United States | |
| Mondelez Canada | Mondelez International | United States | Mondelez Canada originated as Christie Brown & Company which was bought by Nabisco in 1928, retaining use of the Christie brand in Canada for both Christie and Nabisco products. Mondelez acquired Nabisco in 2012. |
| Moores | Tailored Brands | United States | |
| Mountain Equipment Company | Kingswood Capital Management | United States | Formerly incorporated as Mountain Equipment Co-op, restructured as MEC upon purchase by KCM in 2020. |
| Nissan Canada | Nissan Motors | Japan | |
| Northrop Grumman Canada | Northrop Grumman | United States | |
| OLCO Petroleum Group | Morgan Stanley | United States | Morgan Stanley purchased 60% of OLCO in 2007. |
| Parmalat Canada | Parmalat | Italy | Parlamat Canada is best known for owning the Black Diamond Cheese brand. |
| PetroKazakhstan | PetroChina (China National Petroleum Corp) | China | PetroKazakhstan is a Calgary-based company exploring in Central Asia. It was purchased by the China National Petroleum Corporation in 2005, and transferred to its subsidiary PetroChina. |
| Petronas Canada | Petronas | Malaysia | Progress Energy Resources was one of two Canadian oil and gas companies that the Harper government controversially approved the sale of to foreign state-owned enterprises in 2012; though it stated that future takeovers by SOEs would face new rules, especially in the energy sector. |
| Postmedia Network | Chatham Asset Management | United States | Chatham has owned roughly 66% of Postmedia since 2019. |
| Pratt & Whitney Canada | United Technologies | United States | |
| Raytheon Canada | Raytheon | United States | |
| Resolute Forest Products | Domtar | United States | In 2023, the company was acquired by the Paper Excellence Group through its subsidiary, Domtar. |
| Rio Tinto Alcan | Rio Tinto | Australia / United Kingdom | Canadian manufacturer Alcan was purchased by Rio Tinto in 2007 and merged with Rio Tinto's Canadian division, becoming Rio Tinto Alcan. |
| Rona | Sycamore Partners | United States | Rona was purchased by American hardware store chain Lowe's in 2016 and sold to Sycamore Partners in 2023. |
| Roots Canada | Searchlight Capital | United States | Searchlight Capital Partners LP acquired an undisclosed majority stake in 2015. |
| Seaspan ULC | The Washington Companies | United States | The Washington Companies acquired Seaspan in 1996. |
| Shell Canada | Shell | England | |
| Sleeman Breweries | Sapporo Breweries | Japan | |
| Sony Canada | Sony Corp | Japan | |
| SRY Rail Link | The Washington Companies | United States | |
| Spence Diamonds | Lion Capital LLP | United Kingdom | In April 2015, Lion Capital acquired Spence Diamonds in a $125 million deal. |
| Staples Canada | Sycamore Partners | United States | |
| Stelco | Cleveland-Cliffs | United States | Stelco was Canada's last major independent steel producer. It was taken over by United States Steel in 2007, before being acquired by Bedrock in 2016 and Cleveland-Cliffs in 2024. |
| Designer Brands Canada | Designer Brands | United States | Designer Brands fully acquired Town Shoes in 2018 and continues to operate its banners, The Shoe Company and DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse. |
| TJX Canada | TJX Companies | United States | Operates Canadian stores Winners and HomeSense, as well as American brands Marshalls and TJ Maxx. Winners merged with TJX in 1990. HomeSense was founded by TJX for the Canadian market in 2001. |
| Toyota Canada Inc. | Toyota | Japan | including Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada |
| Univar Canada | Univar Solutions | United States | |
| Universal Music Canada | Universal Music Group | United States and Netherlands | |
| Valbruna ASW | Ampco Pittsburgh | United States | ASW was purchased by Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation in 2016. |
| Wal-Mart Canada | Walmart Inc. | United States | wholly-owned by Walmart |
| Warner Music Canada | Warner Music Group | United States | |
| Waste Connections of Canada | Waste Connections | United States | Majority shares are owned by Waste Connections |
| Wattpad | Naver Corporation | South Korea | |
| Wow Unlimited Media | Kartoon Studios | United States | Wow was acquired in 2022. It notably owns Mainframe Studios. |

### Banks

* AMEX Bank of Canada — American Express (US)
* Citibank Canada — Citigroup (US)
* Habib Canadian Bank — Habib Bank AG Zurich (Switzerland)
* ICICI Bank Canada — ICICI Bank (India)
* Shinhan Bank Canada — Shinhan Bank Korea (South Korea)
* KEB Hana Bank Canada — Hana Financial Group (South Korea)
* Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Canada — Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (Japan)

### Gaming companies

| Company | Foreign owner(s) | Origin of foreign owner |
| HB Studios | 2K | United States |
| Beenox | Activision | United States |
| Radical Entertainment (defunct) | Activision | United States |
| Capcom Vancouver | Capcom | Japan |
| Big Blue Bubble | Enad Global 7 | Sweden |
| Piranha Games | Enad Global 7 | Sweden |
| BioWare | Electronic Arts | United States |
| EA Black Box | Electronic Arts | United States |
| EA Montreal | Electronic Arts | United States |
| EA Vancouver | Electronic Arts | United States |
| Motive Studios | Electronic Arts | United States |
| Ludia | Jam City | United States |
| Digital Extremes | Leyou | China |
| FUN Technologies | Liberty Media | United States |
| Next Level Games | Nintendo | Japan |
| Rockstar Toronto | Rockstar Games | United States |
| Rockstar Vancouver | Rockstar Games | United States |
| Relic Entertainment | Sega Europe (Sega) | Japan |
| Eidos-Montréal | Square Enix | Japan |
| Square Enix Montreal | Square Enix | Japan |
| Klei Entertainment | Tencent | China |
| Ubisoft Montreal | Ubisoft | France |
| Ubisoft Quebec | Ubisoft | France |
| Ubisoft Saguenay | Ubisoft | France |
| Ubisoft Toronto | Ubisoft | France |
| WB Games Montréal | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | United States |

### Formerly foreign-owned

Canadian companies that were once foreign-owned but are currently owned by a Canadian company:
* CCM Hockey — acquired by Reebok in 2004, and now owned by Birch Hill Equity Partners.
* Cirque du Soleil — Before being acquired in 2020 by Canada's Capital Catalyst Group, Cirque's three shareholders were U.S.-based TPG Capital, Chinese-based Fosun, and Canadian-based Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec.
* FortisBC (formerly BC Gas, a public utility company) — Then known as Terasen Inc., it was sold to American-owned energy giant Kinder Morgan for $6.9 billion. The deal was approved in 2005 by the B.C. Utilities Commission despite 8,000 letters of protest. Terasen was subsequently sold to Newfoundland-based Fortis Inc. in 2007.
* Tangerine Bank (formerly ING Bank of Canada) — formed by the purchase of several small Canadian companies by the Dutch ING Group. It has been owned since 2012 by Scotiabank (formally the Bank of Nova Scotia).
* Tim Hortons — sold to U.S.-based Wendy's International in 1995, and later to sold to the public as an IPO in 2005. It is now owned by Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International, a Canadian-American fast food holding company.
* Ultramar — Owned by Calgary-based Parkland Fuel since 2016. It was previously owned by American companies CST Brands, and before that Valero Energy.

## Former Canadian companies acquired by foreign owners

| Company | Foreign owner | Origin of foreign owner | Notes |
| Addax Petroleum | Sinopec | China | Addax was one of 9 Canadian Fortune 2000 oil and gas companies in 2009. It was acquired by Sinopec for C$8.27 billion in June 2009 and approved by the Chinese government on August 12 that year. |
| ATI Technologies | Advanced Micro Devices | United States | ATI was Canada's graphics chip maker, acquired by Advanced Micro Devices in July 2006. |
| Canadian Pacific Hotels | Colony Capital, LLC and Kingdom Holding Co. | United States and Saudi Arabia | Canadian Pacific Hotels was the owner of many of Canada's most historic hotel properties (operating under the name Fairmont Hotels and Resorts since 1999). It was sold to California-based Colony Capital, LLC and Saudi Arabia-based Kingdom Holding Company for $3.9 billion, in January 2006. |
| Consumers Distributing | Ackermans & van Haaren | Belgium | Consumers was acquired by AvH in 1993. It filed for bankruptcy in 1996. |
| CP Ships Ltd. | TUI AG | Germany | Merged with TUI AG, the parent company of Hapag-Lloyd Container Line, after in an all-cash transaction worth $2.3 billion US in 2005. |
| Creo | Eastman Kodak | United States | Creo was a world leader in digital printing software. |
| Eaton's | Sears | United States | Eaton's was, at one time, Canada's largest retailer, with a history going back to 1869. It was purchased by Sears in 1999 and closed in 2000. |
| Falconbridge Ltd. | Xstrata | Switzerland | |
| Future Shop | Best Buy | United States | |
| Grand & Toy | The ODP Corporation | United States | Grand & Toy was acquired by OfficeMax in 1996. OfficeMax merged with Office Depot in 2013. Grand & Toy continues to exist as a brand name and website. |
| Gulf Canada | Conoco | United States | Gulf Canada had formerly been part of U.S.-based Gulf Oil, later becoming independent. It was then purchased by Conoco in a deal worth $6.7 billion in 2002. In 2015, Gulf-branded gas stations returned to Canada through a licensing deal between XTR Energy Company Limited and Gulf Oil International U.K. Limited. |
| ID Biomedical | GlaxoSmithKline | United Kingdom | ID Biomedical, a Canadian vaccine maker, was acquired by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline for $1.8 billion in 2005. |
| JDS Fitel | Uniphase | United States | In 1999, JDS Fitel announced a $8.9-billion merger with Uniphase to form JDS Uniphase. Company headquarters moved from Ottawa to San Jose. |
| LW Stores | Big Lots | United States | LW Stores was acquired by Big Lots in 2011 and shut down in 2014. |
| MacMillan Bloedel | Weyerhaeuser | United States | B.C. forestry giant acquired by Weyerhaeuser for US$2.45 billion in 1999 |
| Moore Wallace | R.R. Donnelley and Sons | United States | Moore Wallace sold to R.R. Donnelley and Sons for $4.9 billion. In February 2004, R.R. Donnelley merged with Moore Wallace, keeping the name R.R. Donnelley as the name of the combined company. |
| Noranda | Xstrata | Switzerland | Noranda purchased by mining company Xstrata in 2006. It had earlier been a target of state-owned China Metals Corp., but had backed out in 2005 amid public concern in Canada of Chinese state control of such a major company. |
| Pixar Canada | Pixar | United States | |
| Seagram | Vivendi Universal and Pernod Ricard | France | distillery and entertainment conglomerate; sold to Vivendi Universal and Pernod Ricard in 2000 |
| Sears Canada | Sears Holdings Corp. | United States | Sears Canada was one of the largest retailers (created by buying old Simpson's stores). |
| Tembec | RYAM | United States | Tembec wad purchased merged with RYAM in 2017 for CAD $475 million. |
| The Stars Group | Flutter Entertainment | Ireland and United States | Stars Group was purchased and absorbed in 2020. |
| Town Shoes | Designer Brands | United States | Purchased and shut down in 2018. former banners The Shoe Company and DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse (Canada) remain in operation. |
| Vincor International Ltd | Constellation Brands | United States | Vincor, Canada's top wine maker and distributor, was purchased for $1.4 billion by Constellation. |
| XS Cargo | KarpReilly LLC | United States | In 2011, XS Cargo was sold to Greenwich, Connecticut-based private investment firm KarpReilly LLC. The company went bankrupt in 2014. |
| ZENON Environmental | GE Water & Process Technologies (General Electric) | United States | ZENON was a technology company originating in Hamilton, Ontario. |
Existing companies formerly based in Canada
* Bauer, Cooper, and Hespeler, historic hockey-equipment manufacturers, were collectively bought by U.S.-based Nike in 1994.

## Rules and regulations

"Non-Canadian," for all intents and purposes, refers to entities based outside of Canada and to individuals who are not Canadian citizens or qualified permanent residents.
A business undertaking is considered to be 'Canadian' if it is Canadian-controlled, which generally mean:
* if one Canadian, or two or more Canadian members of a voting group, owns a majority of the voting interests of an entity, the entity is Canadian-controlled.
* if one non-Canadian, or two or more non-Canadian members of a voting group, owns a majority of the voting interests of an entity, the entity is not Canadian-controlled.
In regards to public companies, which are not controlled through the ownership of voting shares, the corporation is considered to be Canadian-controlled if at least two-thirds of the board of directors is Canadian.
Large foreign direct investments in Canada are governed under the federal Investment Canada Act (ICA). This act is primarily administered by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, though defined "cultural businesses" are administered by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Foreign corporations often incorporate branches or special-purpose subsidiaries within Canada in order to facilitate business and control their investments. Business profits earned in Canada by such a branch will be subject to regular federal and provincial corporate Income Taxes. An additional Federal Branch Tax is also applied on profits not reinvested in Canada. A tax treaty may provide for a reduced rate or exemption threshold for the Federal Branch Tax.
Various federal and provincial statutes place additional restrictions on foreign ownership in specific industries. Federal acts include:
* Bank Act — provides that no person may own and control more than 10% of the shares of a Schedule I bank.
* Broadcasting Act — bans broadcasting licenses from being issued to non-Canadians or to companies that are effectively owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by non-Canadians.
* Telecommunications Act — restricts foreign ownership and control to 20% of the voting shares of a telecommunications common carrier.
* Insurance Companies Act — provides that no person may own and control more than 10% of the shares of a Canadian-owned life insurance company. (Manitoba legislation also places restrictions on foreign investment in the insurance industry.)
The New Brunswick Business Corporations Act, the Nova Scotia Companies Act, the Quebec Business Corporations Act, and the British Columbia Business Corporations Act make no stipulations that resident Canadians be directors. New Brunswick provides that Extra Provincial Corporations need only have an "attorney for service" resident in that province.
Unlimited liability corporations can exist in Alberta, British Columbia, or Nova Scotia. This form is particularly convenient where the parties are well-established and in no danger of insolvency. Alberta requires the derisory fee of CA$100 to establish this form. In most other provinces, the legislation is significantly more restrictive.