Canada Day love: Celebrating our Top 5 Canadian public companies

Happy Canada Day! What better way to celebrate than to acknowledge some of Canada’s best? We picked our Top 5 Canadian public companies, all for different reasons. (And no, not based on revenue and profit, because you could just Google those boring lists). We’ve also added a list of our favourite Canadian startups as well as some companies with whom we’d just like to say ‘cheers’.

Our 5 favourite Canadian public companies

1. Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank: the Investor Relations Bosses

TD Bank

Can you say IR awards? Because these guys are consistently winning them. TD Bank is an investor relations powerhouse and won 6 awards at the most recent Investor Relations Magazine awards, including Grand Prix for best Overall Investor Relations for a large cap company, best CFO and best IRO. The bank has also been recognized for their innovative use of technology and their success in video and stunt marketing. Last year they made a splash with their #MakeTodayMatter campaign, where random bank customers were given $30,000 and 24 hours to do something great for the community.

2. Loblaw Companies Ltd.: the Master of Old and New

Loblaw Companies Ltd.

Any 96 year old company that was just named one of the ’15 Most Innovative Canadian Companies of 2015′ by Canadian Business deserves some credit from us. Loblaw Companies Ltd. shows that you don’t have to be a fresh young thing to spark new, creative ideas. Canadian Business writes “It’s easy to overlook all the innovative concepts the business has developed.” That’s true, as the word ‘innovative’ usually brings with it images of Apple Watches and Tesla Motors. Loblaw Companies, however, “have been a world leader when it comes to creating an in-house label that is every bit as good, if not better, than the leading national competitors”. Canadian Business also states how they were ahead of the curve with the whole organic food craze, “developing organic foods under the PC umbrella before organic truly became mainstream”.

3. Shopify Inc.: The New Kid on the Block

Shopify

Shopify Inc. is the company everyone has their eyes on right now. With an almost $2 billion US stock market debut at the end of May, Canadian tech companies everywhere are watching Shopify as they too prepare for a future in the public eye. Shopify, the Otawwa-based e-commerce company that allows anyone to sell any product online, was just named the ‘market’s latest technology darling’ by the Financial Post. The company seems to be handling all the buzz gracefully. They also kept their foot on the gas after their IPO, adding a larger number of brands to their roster and introducing a new ‘buyable pins’ agreement with Pinterest.

4. Royal Bank of Canada: The Consistency Titan 

RoyalBankofCanada

RBC is the heavyweight that refuses to be knocked out of anyone’s Top 5 list in the last few years. They’re not only the most profitable public company but also recognized as a Top 50 Best in Class for CSR by Maclean’s and one of Canadian Business’ Best Large Cap stocks. They’re a huge and daunting company and we want to give props to anyone consistently coming out on top. We also love their idea of holding an annual ‘Next Great Innovator-Prototyping Challenge’ for students. Newswire reports that “since its start in 2006, over 2,300 students have participated”.

5. theScore Inc.: The Trend Tycoon

theScore Inc.

theScore is a Toronto-based creator of mobile-first sports experiences, and they’re always looking ahead at new trends. In the last few months, TheScore launched a new eSports mobile app to branch out into the gaming industry. At the end of March, TheScore also confirmed that “its first flagship app will be among the first Canadian-made apps to be available for Apple Watch” (FinancialPost). What’s the brilliance of theScore? They know where the trends are going. They focus on mobile-first technologies, mobile and video advertising, and live-streaming. TheScore’s “media-rich reporting… places an emphasis on telling stories in a non-traditional way”.

In other fun lists…

Here are some more of our favourite Canadian companies (private and public alike) that we want to acknowledge. Some we’d like to pat on the back, some we’d like to be, and some we’d love to buy a drink sometime.

Our Top 5 Canadian Startups

Wattpad

1. Wattpad Technology Inc. 

Wattpad is a story-sharing website that knows their market: mobile. Inc.com reports that “85% of those accessing the site are on smartphones or tablets”. Fun fact: their Toronto office is an old cigar and whiskey shop from the 1800s.

2.Unbounce

Unbounce ranked 2nd in startupranking.com’s Top Canadian startups, coming in right behind Hootsuite. Unbounce is an internet marketing service mainly for testing landing pages. They’re also Vancouver based, like us. Woot woot!

3. Hootsuite

Of course we’re gonna give some credit to the king. Hootsuite has been named the #1 Canadian startup for the past several years, and is one of the biggest names in social media management and social media marketing. And have you seen their ‘Game of Social Thrones’ video?

4. Latergramme

Great example of seeing a hole in the industry and filling it. You can’t schedule Instagram posts with Hootsuite, but you can with Latergramme. The company was just named as one of the 15 of Canada’s Hottest Tech startups by Metabridge. #nofilter

5. Recon Instruments

Recon Instruments has been “quietly and successfully cornering the sport and outdoor wearable HUD market since its first product launch in 2010” (techvibes.com). They take smart eyewear and smart technology and bring it outdoors. Rumours are also floating around of Intel acquiring them. Guess we’ll have to stay tuned.

Companies we’d like to buy a drink 

We think you’re all super cool, so we’re raising a glass to you.

Figure1

1. Figure 1

A smartphone app for physicians where a community of doctors and other healthcare professionals can share medical images, comment, and give feedback. (also dubbed ‘Instagram for Doctors’). What a cool idea.

2. Vanhawks

Valour smart-bike company with vibrating handlebars warning you of blind-spots and other dangers? We’re in. Also one of the darlings of Kickstarter last year.

3. Slack

That. User. Experience. Tho. Also the world’s fastest startup to reach $2 billion. Nothing else needs to be said.

4. Saltworks Technologies

Also Vancouver. We love Vancouver. This company helps resource companies purify water on a massive scale. We love this because they saw what these companies desperately needed, and delivered a service.


Marika Hirsch
Marika Hirsch

As Blender’s Content Manager (aka ‘Resident Wordsmith’) Marika enjoys bringing readers the latest and greatest in both digital trends and IR tips. Follow along on Twitter: