Canada's Largest Companies 2025: Toronto's ‘Big Five' Banks Dominate

Forbes

2 days ago

Toronto is Canada's financial center and the home of its five major banks, including the Royal Bank of Canada.
Canada's economy is the tenth-largest in the world, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of roughly $2 trillion. Thanks to its proximity and abundant natural resources including gas, oil and agricultural products, the country is the United States' biggest trading partner.
The United States' tariffs, as well as Trump's repeated assertion that the nation of 40 million should become America's 51st state, have led to a feud with Canada. Our northern neighbor implemented retaliatory tariffs (25%) on $30 billion worth of American goods. And some of the goods we rely on them for the most: steel and aluminum. There are economic consequences: export has slowed throughout the ongoing negotiations.
But the banking industry is at the heart of Canada's economy, pumping into almost every other sector. The top five companies on Canada's list are all banks, and they are all based in Toronto. The city alone accounts for 20% of the country's GDP (over $400 billion). Toronto is its leading financial center and home of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE).
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) sits at the top of the Global 2000: Canada ranking 26th on the main Global 2000 list. Based in Toronto, the company brings in almost $100 billion in revenue and has nearly double the profit of TD Bank Group, the second highest ranked Canadian company. RBC, which has significant operations in the U.S., is nearly double the size of its competitors with nearly 100,000 employees. It's the biggest of the 'Big Five' banks.
The 'Big Five' hold the top five spots on the list below. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Bank of Montreal (BMO), Scotiabank (Bank of Nova Scotia), and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) fall two through five on the lineup, respectively. Not only do these banks support the stability of Canada's economy, but their regulation, concentration of power, electronic banking, and dual-currency system ensure these money managers remain at the top of the list.
Further down the ranking, agriculture, energy, and infrastructure companies in Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal hold top spots, along with popular retail brands–even those who don't know much about Canada's economy would recognize: Lululemon Athletica and Shopify. Founded nearly 20 years ago, Shopify supports customers across 175 countries.
The health and biology sector, as well as the AI and technology sector, have representation at the bottom of the list, but the significant and growing presence of those industries will likely mean that these companies, as well as others, will rise higher in Canada's ranking in the years to come.
From banking to biotechnology, the top companies in Canada are not only moving the economy forward, but are also directly impacting globalization, with four of its top banks in the top 100 on the global list.
Forbes