Even though Canada is among the wealthiest nations globally, not every citizen of Canada is a millionaire or billionaire. I am not saying Canadians are poor. However, not everyone is in the 1 percent; everyone in Canada enjoys a decent life with whatever salary they earn from their work line.
According to a new report from a group of international aid organizations, the two most affluent Canadians have the same wealth as the poorest 30 percent of the country combined.
Here Are The Richest People In Canada 2018
10. Jim Pattison
Net Worth: $6.41 billion
Significant company holdings: Jim Pattison Group
The Jim Pattison Group’s grocery business shows it won’t sit idle while national chains Loblaws and Sobeys bulk up their presence in Western Canada. Pattison’s Overwaitea Foods recently took over three Vancouver-area supermarkets from H.Y. Louie and a former Thrifty Foods location from Sobeys. The group also opened its first Save-on-Foods in the Yukon this year on the heels of launching its first Saskatchewan location last year.
This is all part of a plan to grow to 200 outlets across Western Canada, an increase from about 150 in Alberta and B.C. today.
9. Richardson Family
Net Worth: $6.55 billion
Significant company holdings: James Richardson & Sons
James Richardson & Sons Ltd. has a long history of counterintuitive business moves. For example, in the face of weak oil prices last year, the company expanded its energy infrastructure holdings with the $1-billion purchase of a pipeline system in Saskatchewan through one of its subsidiaries.
The company isn’t solely focused on commodities. In partnership with True North Sports and Entertainment (David Thomson has a stake), the Richardsons are undertaking a $400-million mixed-use development in downtown Winnipeg.
8. Irving Family
Net Worth: $7.38 billion
Significant company holdings: Irving Oil, J.D. Irving
The Irvings had their hopes dashed in October when plans were scrapped for the $15.7-billion Energy East pipeline, which would carry over a million barrels of oil from Alberta to Saint John, N.B. every day, some of which would be processed at Irving Oil’s refinery. “This is a sad day for Canada,” president Ian Whitcomb said following the announcement.
After five years of lobbying, the company is understandably disappointed. That’s not to say the year’s been all bad. They’re expanding their U.S. operations with a new US$400 million paper production facility in Macon, Georgia.
7. Desmarais Family
Net Worth: $8.38 billion
Significant company holdings: Power Corp. of Canada
The Desmarais family kicked off the new year by snapping up Performance Sports Group, the company behind the Bauer and Easton brands, for $575 million with partner Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.
The purchase adds to their growing influence in the sporting-goods realm, where Desmarais holds a seat on the board of Adidas AG and hockey gear company CCM.
6. Garrett Camp
Net Worth: $8.58 billion
Significant company holdings: Uber, Stumbleupon
While best known as a co-founder of Uber, Garrett Camp is now focused on other ventures. Last year, he and a few other partners unveiled Expa Labs, a startup incubator in Silicon Valley. Expa differs from other firms of its kind by accepting just a handful of startups, allowing Camp and his co-founders to spend more time coaching their cohort of fledgling entrepreneurs.
To that end, Expa raised US$100 million in funding from investors like Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and HP CEO Meg Whitman. However, that’s not to say he’s been left unscathed. Uber’s shares have reportedly dropped 15% this year, with their valuation plunging from US$60 billion to US$50 billion.
5. Saputo Family
Net Worth: $10.41 billion
Major company holdings: Saputo, Transforce
Among the top 10 dairy producers globally, the $16-billion multinational Saputo sells its milk, cheese, yogurt and other goods under dozens of different brand names around the globe. The Saputo family likes to think big: The company is the largest cheese maker in Canada, third-largest in the U.S. and Argentina and fourth in Australia. As a result, its stock soared for most last year, climbing more than 50% and taking the family fortune to new heights.
But since an abrupt drop in November 2016, when reports emerged that the company was issuing new shares at a below-market valuation, the company has struggled to rebound.
4. Rogers Family
Net Worth: $11.57 billion
Significant company holdings: Rogers Communications
Former Telus top man Joe Natale officially took over as CEO of Rogers Communications Inc. this year, signalling a return to stable leadership after former CEO Guy Laurence was axed last fall. The firm (which owns Canadian Business) has made several significant moves leading up to and since then, including shutting down video service Shomi, paring down its print magazine portfolio and shaking up its management structure.
So far, the changes seem to be serving the company well. In the latter months of 2017, the company’s stock climbed 7.8% as the industry stagnated at 0.8%.
3. Galen Weston
Net Worth: $13.55 billion
Significant company holdings: George Weston, Associated British Foods, Loblaw, Selfridges, Holt Renfrew
The family behind Loblaw may have more money than everyone in the country, but that doesn’t mean it’s willing to part with any of it. The Westons gained attention this year for speaking out against “aggressive” minimum wage hike plans for Ontario and Alberta, which Galen Weston Jr.—who took over his father’s post as executive chairman of George Weston Ltd. last year, estimates would cost the food-processing and distribution company another $190 million in annual expenses.
2. Joseph Tsai
Net Worth: $14.36 billion
Significant company holdings: Alibaba
Joseph Tsai is the right-hand man of Alibaba founder Jack Ma. After navigating the company through its first substantial challenges (the U.S. authorities investigated Alibaba’s accounting practices last year, concerned about data from its blockbuster annual sale), Tsai is making more positive headlines of late.
In September, the company’s stock reached a 100% increase over last year, as Tsai and Ma discussed selling up to 22.5 million (or US$4 billion worth) of the company’s shares. On the side, Tsai has been eyeing ownership of the Brooklyn Nets for US$2.2 billion.
1. Thomson Family
Net Worth: $41.14 billion
Significant company holdings: Thomson Reuters, Woodbridge Co.
Canada’s most affluent family maintains its spot at the top of the list on the company’s strength that bears its name, Thomson Reuters. After a rough patch early in 2016, the company slowly gained background. By late summer 2017, Thomson Reuters’ shares had hit an all-time high on the New York and Toronto Stock exchanges.
The family suffered a significant loss this year with the death of their matriarch, Marilyn Thomson, who had been a grounding figure for her three children and, in many ways, inspired their ambition. “She was tenacious and determined and would never take no for an answer,” said Peter, the youngest sibling, in a eulogy to his mother in June.
Reference: Canada’s Richest People 2018: The Top 25 Richest Canadians
