Here at CMG, we appreciate (and acknowledge) the importance of our Canadian family-controlled firms and the crucial role each play in the global economy.

As leaders in their respected industries, these Canadian business families continue to out-perform wider-held public firms. They’ve demonstrated resiliency, international growth and success – despite economic challenges, such as the past two years of the COVID pandemic.

It’s the reason a recent article featured in Wealth Professional has caught our attention. It recaps the National Bank of Canada report on ‘Family Advantage – Spring 2022,’ featuring and analyzing some of Canada’s prominent Canadian business families.

Below, we highlight five things that stood out to us in the report:

  • Forty-four Canadian business families on the National Bank of Canada report. The list includes – Fairfax Financial Holding (Watsa family), Maple Leaf Foods (McCain family), Empire Company (Sobey family), Power Corp. (Desmarais family), Saputo, Inc., George Weston, Rogers and Shaw Communications; just to name a few. Moreover, 33 out of the 44 companies in the current National Bank of Canada’s Canadian Family Index are controlled by a founding family or founder(s) and eleven by individual(s) and/or related entities.
  • Market capital representation. Combined, these 44 Canadian family or founder-controlled businesses have a market capitalization representing 22% of the S&P/TSX Composite Index capitalization.
  • Out-performing despite economic lows. Over the course of the 2008 Financial Crisis and the 2020-2021 COVID-19 market disruptions, the National Bank of Canada’s Canadian Family Index has outperformed the S&P TSX Composite.
  • Next generation leaders. About 70% of the National Bank of Canada’s Canadian Family Index member businesses have seen at least two generations of family owners.
  • Impact of culture. “The biggest advantage of being a family-controlled company is the business culture instilled by its founders,” says Karinne Bouchard, Corporate Director, Alimentation Couche-Tard. The four founders of Alimentation Couche-Tard remain the largest shareholders, and attribute hard work as the ‘foundation of their long-term success.’

 

You can read the full Wealth Professional article here.

For a detailed breakdown, see the complete The National Bank of Canada Family Advantage Report (Jun. 2022) here.

 

Christina Outridge is a Marketing and Communication Specialist at Creaghan McConnell Group.