Forget the politicians you see on TV or
the CEOs on magazine covers. The real
lasting power in Canada is often held by
a small group of families whose wealth
is older than the country's modern
identity. They control huge pieces of
the economy. From the food you buy to
the news you read, for over a hundred
years, these 10 families have quietly
commanded global business empires. Their
legacies cemented in steel, stone, and
stock certificates. Today, we're pulling
back the curtain to explore the
historical roots of their fortunes and
reveal the massive empires they still
control.
Our countdown begins with a name that's
basically synonymous with Canada itself,
Molson.
The Molson family story isn't just about
wealth. It's about a legacy that's been
brewing for over 200 years. It all
started way back in 1786. That's a full
81 years before Confederation when a
young English immigrant named John
Molson founded a brewery on the banks of
the St. Lawrence River, Lawrence River
in Montreal.
This wasn't just any business. It was
the birth of Canada's oldest brewery.
John Molson was more than a brewer. He
was a visionary who knew that to build
something that lasts, you have to invest
in the world around you. He didn't just
sell beer. He built steam ships that
changed river transport, helped fund
Montreal's first public hospital and
owned Canada's very first railway. That
mindset, diversify and serve your
community, became the family's golden
rule.
While the brewery was always the heart
of the business, the Molsons branched
out, becoming giants of industry and
finance. They were involved in banking,
real estate, and shipping, embedding
their influence deep into the economic
fabric of Quebec and the entire nation.
Today, the Molson legacy lives on
through the Molson Coors Beverage
Company, a global giant formed after a
2005 merger, but their impact goes way
beyond beer.
The Molson name is welded to Canada's
national sport, hockey. The family has
owned stakes in the Montreal Canadians
for generations, making them cultural
custodians of one of Canada's most
beloved institutions. And they continue
to shape the country through
philanthropy. With the Molson Foundation
donating millions to health care,
education, and the arts, from a single
brewery on a riverbank to a global brand
and a cultural dynasty, the Molsons are
the quintessential old money family
whose influence has flowed through
Canadian life for generations.
Coming in at number nine is a family
whose journey is a more modern yet
equally powerful version of the Canadian
dream, the Saputos. Their fortune
doesn't stretch back to the 18th
century, but their story shows the
incredible success that can be built and
sustained through relentless hard work.
The Saputo dynasty began in 1954 when
master cheese maker Leno Saputo senior
arrived in Montreal from Sicily. With
only $500 and a bicycle for deliveries,
the family started a small cheesem
business. They focused on the city's
growing Italian community, making fresh
mozzarella and ricotta with an absolute
commitment to quality. That dedication
was the foundation for an empire. The
company grew steadily and under the
leadership of Lo's son, Lo Saputo Jr.,
it transformed into a publicly traded
global dairy powerhouse. How did they do
it? Strategic acquisitions. Saputo Inc.
started buying up smaller dairies across
Canada, consolidating the market and
building a national distribution
network. They scooped up well-known
brands like Armstrong and Dairland,
making their products a staple in
Canadian homes. Today, Saputo Inc. is
one of the top 10 dairy processors in
the world with a major presence in the
US, Australia, Argentina, and the UK.
They produce a massive range of dairy
products and the family, now in its
third generation of leadership, still
holds a controlling stake. Their impact
on Canada's dairy industry is immense.
Beyond the boardroom, the Saputos are
major philanthropists, especially in
Montreal. They've made huge donations to
healthcare, and their name is on the
Saputo stadium, home to the CF Montreal
soccer team. The Saputos prove that old
money isn't just about inherited land or
ancient banks. It can be built from
scratch and passed down with a sense of
duty and community. At number eight, we
find a family whose name is probably in
your freezer right now. The McCain's.
From the small rural town of
Florenceville, New Brunswick, the McCain
family built a global empire on a very
simple yet brilliant idea, the frozen
French fry. Their story is a masterclass
in innovation and global expansion.
In 1957,
brothers Harrison and Wallace McCain
along with their siblings Robert and
Andrew founded McCain Foods. They saw a
growing demand for convenient restaurant
quality food that families could make at
home. They bet big on a new technology,
freezing, and aimed it at the humble
potato. It was a gamble that paid off
big time. McCain Foods quickly became
the world's largest producer of frozen
French fries, a title it still holds
today. The company's success was fueled
by an aggressive global strategy. The
McCain brothers knew their product had
universal appeal, and they expanded into
international markets with incredible
speed. They opened plants in the UK in
the60s, then Australia, the US, and
Europe. Today, McCain products are sold
in over 160 countries.
But the family's journey wasn't all
smooth sailing. A famous feud between
Harrison and Wallace in the 1990s over
who would succeed them threatened to
tear the family and the business apart.
The conflict was eventually resolved,
but it was a tough lesson in the
challenges of running a family dynasty.
Despite this, the McCain family has kept
control of the company, which remains
privately held. This allows them to
focus on long-term growth without the
pressure of public markets. Their
influence is huge, especially in rural
communities where they are major
employers, and they've been major
philanthropists, particularly in their
home province of New Brunswick. The
McCain dynasty shows how a single great
idea executed with global ambition can
create a fortune that shapes an entire
industry for generations.
Our seventh family is one of the oldest
and most discreet financial dynasties in
Canada, the Richardsons.
You may not know their name, and that's
just how they like it. Their story
begins on the vast prairies of Western
Canada, long before the oil booms. In
1857, James Richardson, an Irish
immigrant, started a small grain trading
business in Kingston, Ontario. He'd buy
grain from local farmers and ship it
east. It was a simple business built on
trust and a sharp understanding of
agricultural markets. that one-man
operation, James Richardson and Sons
would grow into one of the most powerful
private companies in the country. As
Canada pushed west in the late 19th
century, so did the Richardson Empire.
The family became pioneers in the
Canadian grain industry, building a
network of elevators across the prairies
and helping establish the Winnipeg grain
exchange.
For generations, the Richardson name has
been synonymous with grain. But like all
lasting old money families, the
Richardsons knew they had to diversify.
While agriculture is still their core
business, they've expanded into a wide
range of other sectors. Their holding
company has major interests in financial
services through Richardson Wealth, oil
and gas, and commercial real estate. The
entire empire is still privately owned
and controlled by the family, now in its
sixth generation. They operate quietly,
avoiding the media and focusing on
steady long-term growth. Their influence
is felt most deeply in Winnipeg, where
they have been a central pillar of the
city's economic and civic life for over
a century, supporting everything from
the arts to healthcare. The Richardson
family is the classic example of old
money. Build a fortune in a core
industry, diversify wisely, and quietly
shape the economy from behind the
scenes.
At number six, we have a family whose
name once dominated Canadian retail, the
Morgans. While they no longer control a
vast commercial empire, their story is a
key chapter in Canadian business
history. The dynasty began in 1845 when
Henry Morgan, a Scottish immigrant,
co-founded a small dry good store in
Montreal. This humble shop eventually
grew into Morgan's Canada's first ever
department store. Henry was an innovator
bringing the idea of a grand luxurious
multi-ep department store to Canada.
Morgans's became a Montreal institution,
a symbol of elegance and quality. For
generations, the family built a retail
and real estate empire that was the envy
of the nation. They were true Montreal
high society with grand estates and
private railway cars. Their flagship
store on St. Katherine Street was a
landmark and the family even built some
of Canada's first suburban shopping
malls. But the retail world changed.
Facing intense competition, the Morgan
family made a huge decision in 1960.
They sold their entire chain of
department stores to their biggest
rival, the Hudson's Bay Company. The
sale brought the family a fortune in
cash and a massive block of Hudson's Bay
shares, making them one of the largest
shareholders in their former competitor.
This was the end of the Morgan retail
era, but not their wealth. The money
went into a family trust that managed
extensive real estate holdings. However,
later generations struggled to manage
this fortune, and the family's business
presence faded. Still, the Morgan legacy
lives on through their philanthropy.
Like the land donated to McGill
University for the Morgan arboritum.
Their story is a powerful reminder that
dynastic wealth isn't always permanent
and that the ability to adapt is key.
They families built their fortunes by
seeing the future, whether in beer,
frozen food, or the grain that would
feed a nation. They understood the
Canadian economy because they helped
build it. We're only halfway through and
the empires get even bigger and more
influential from here. If you're
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Entering our top five is a family whose
power in one region is so concentrated,
they're often described as modern-day
feudal lords, the Irvings of New
Brunswick. The Irving Empire is a
massive sprawling web of companies that
touches almost every part of the economy
in Atlantic Canada. The story starts
with Kenneth Collin or KC Irving, a
driven and famously frugal entrepreneur.
Born in 1899, KC started with a small
car dealership and gas station and built
his empire with a simple, powerful
strategy. Control every single link in
the supply chain. If he sold cars, he
wanted to sell the gas. If he sold gas,
he needed the oil refinery. To get oil
to the refinery, he needed ships and
trucks. To build those assets, he needed
a shipyard and construction companies.
This relentless drive for vertical
integration created a vast and complex
empire. The family's holdings were
eventually split among KC's three sons.
One branch led by Arthur Irving controls
Irving Oil which owns Canada's largest
refinery and over 900 gas stations.
Another under James JK Irving controls
JD Irving Limited, a monster
conglomerate involved in forestry, paper
products, ship building, transportation,
and food. Until recently, a third branch
of the family controlled the media,
owning almost all of New Brunswick's
major English language newspapers.
This incredible concentration of
corporate and media power in one family
is unlike almost anywhere else in the
developed world. The Irvings are the
largest private sector employer in New
Brunswick and one of the biggest land
owners in the region. Their influence is
everywhere. This dominance hasn't come
without controversy. The family has
faced criticism over its business
practices, environmental impact, and
powerful influence over provincial
politics. Yet they are also major
philanthropists giving back millions to
education and health care in the region.
The Irvings are a dynasty of immense
concentrated power. A family that has
shaped an entire region through sheer
will. At number four, we find a family
whose name brings to mind both immense
wealth and Shakespearean tragedy. The
Bronman's.
Their rise from poverty to the top of
global business is one of the most
dramatic stories in Canadian corporate
history. The story begins with Samuel
Bronman who came to Canada from Russia
in the late 19th century. His big break
came during prohibition in the United
States. While alcohol was banned south
of the border, it was legal to produce
and export in Canada. Samuel Bronman
legally built his company Seagrum by
selling whiskey to American distributors
who then smuggled it across the border.
When prohibition ended, Seagrum was
perfectly positioned. Bronman had a huge
stockpile of aged highquality whiskey
while American distillers were just
starting up again. Seag quickly
dominated the North American market,
becoming the largest distiller of
alcoholic beverages in the world. Brands
like Crown Royal and Shivus Regal became
global icons and the Bronman family
became Canadian royalty. But then came
the third generation. Samuel's grandson
Edgar Jr. made an audacious move in the
1990s. He orchestrated the sale of
serum's massively profitable beverage
empire to go allin on Hollywood,
acquiring major entertainment companies
like MCA and Universal. It turned out to
be a catastrophic miscalculation.
The family lost billions as the
entertainment ventures soured and the
serum company, the foundation of their
fortune, was sold off and dismantled.
Despite this incredible loss, the
Bronman family remains extremely wealthy
through diversified investments in real
estate, technology, and finance. Their
legacy is complex. They have been among
Canada's greatest philanthropists,
making huge contributions to
universities, hospitals, and the global
Jewish community. The Bronman story is a
powerful lesson in how a fortune built
over a lifetime can be risked in a
generation, and how a family's legacy
can be defined as much by its losses as
its victories.
Coming in at number three is a family
that truly embodies the quiet political
power of old money, the Desmare family.
You might not know their name as well as
others on this list, but their influence
radiates from Montreal to the highest
levels of Canadian and international
business and politics. The architect of
this dynasty was Paul Dearee Senior who
started by turning around his family's
struggling bus company in the 1950s.
Through a series of brilliant deals, he
gained control of the power corporation
of Canada in 1968 and transformed it
into a massive financial services
conglomerate.
The Desmare strategy was to acquire
controlling stakes in large stable
companies, especially in insurance and
investment. Through Power Corporation,
the family controls some of Canada's
biggest financial institutions,
including Great West Life Co. and IGM
Financial.
More recently, they've become major
players in fintech, holding a
significant stake in the popular
investment platform Wealth Simple. But
what really sets the Desare family apart
is their deep and lasting political
connections.
Paul Dayare senior was a close friend
and adviser to numerous Canadian prime
ministers including Pierre Trudeau,
Brian Malrroni and Paul Martin. His son
Andre is married to former prime
minister Jean Cretan's daughter. These
relationships have placed the family at
the center of Canadian public life for
decades, earning them both admiration
and scrutiny. Now led by the third
generation, the family maintains tight
control over their empire. They are
major patrons of the arts and education
and their influence shows no sign of
fading. The Demare family proves how
immense wealth combined with strategic
political networking can create a
dynasty whose power is both far-reaching
and incredibly durable. At number two,
we have a family whose empire touches
the lives of nearly every Canadian every
single day. The Westerns. From the bread
on your table to the groceries in your
cart and the products in your medicine
cabinet, the Western family's influence
on Canadian retail is simply
inescapable.
The dynasty started in 1882 when George
Weston, a former baker's apprentice,
bought a bread route in Toronto. He soon
opened his own bakery, George Westeron
Limited. His son, W. Garfield Western
took that ambition and went global,
acquiring bakeries and grocery stores
across Canada, the US and the UK. But it
was the third generation led by W. Galen
Weston who cemented the family's
dominance.
Galen took control of Loblaw Companies,
a struggling grocery chain the family
owned and transformed it into the
largest food retailer in the country.
Through clever marketing, innovative
store brands like President's Choice and
No-Name, and buying up competitors,
Loblaws became the undisputed king of
Canadian grocery. The empire grew even
larger with the acquisition of the
Shoppers Drug Marty chain. For decades,
the Westerns also owned iconic luxury
department stores like Halt Renfruit in
Canada and Selfridges in the UK, which
they sold in 2021. The family's main
holding company, George Weston Limited,
and their private family office manage
their vast portfolio. Now, the fourth
generation, led by Galen G. Weston, has
taken the public lead, steering the
family's retail empire. Like the other
families on this list, the Westerns are
major philanthropists, making huge
donations to health care, education, and
the arts. They have shown an incredible
ability to adapt and grow over four
generations, turning a single bakery
into one of the most powerful and
pervasive commercial dynasties in the
nation. And now we've reached the top of
our list. At number one, with a
staggering fortune and an almost
invisible public profile, is the
Thompson family. They are by a wide
margin the richest family in Canada and
their story is the ultimate example of
old money power and discretion. The
Thompson Dynasty was founded by Roy
Thompson, the son of a Toronto barber.
His beginnings were humble, but his
ambition was limitless. In 1931, in the
depths of the Great Depression, he
bought a small radio station in North
Bay, Ontario. Soon after he bought a
small newspaper. From these small towns,
Roy Thompson began to build a media
empire with a simple strategy. Buy
small, often struggling newspapers and
run them with ruthless efficiency. By
the 1950s, he had a vast network of
newspapers and had expanded to the UK,
acquiring major publications like the
Sunday Times. His success was so immense
that in 1964 he was granted a hereditary
British parage becoming Roy Thompson
first Baron Thompson of fleet. His son
Kenneth inherited the title and the
business but his real passion was art
not newspapers. Kenneth made a brilliant
and pivotal move. He shifted the
family's focus away from the declining
newspaper business and into the
lucrative world of specialized
information and financial data. He
oversaw the acquisition of Reuters in
2008, creating the global information
giant Thompson Reuters.
Today, the family's fortune is managed
through their private holding company
Woodbridge. This company holds their
controlling stake in Thompson Reuters,
the Crown Jewel, but also has
investments in Bell Canada, and owns the
Globe and Mail, Canada's most
influential national newspaper. The
family is now led by the third
generation, David Thompson, who is known
to be even more reclusive and private
than his father. The family's influence
is exercised quietly through their
control of major media outlets and their
immense financial power. They are also
among the country's greatest
philanthropists with a special focus on
the arts. Kenneth Thompson's spectacular
personal art collection was donated to
the Art Gallery of Ontario. The Thompson
family represents the absolute pinnacle
of old money in Canada. A dynasty built
from scratch, transformed by strategic
genius, and now managed with a level of
privacy that makes their immense power
all the more formidable. From the
breweries of Montreal to the oil fields
of the east coast and the financial data
hubs of the world, the stories of these
10 families are truly woven into the
fabric of Canada.
Their journeys often follow a similar
path. Build a fortune in a core
industry, diversify into global markets,
and secure the legacy through careful
planning and philanthropy.
They are the quiet owners, the hidden
architects of the Canadian economy. They
have funded political parties, built our
cultural institutions, and employed
generations of Canadians. While their
names might be on our university halls
and hospital wings, their real influence
often stays just out of sight, wielded
in boardrooms and private family
offices. As Canada keeps evolving, the
enduring power of these old money
dynasties is a testament to the lasting
impact of generational wealth. Their
fortunes were built on the industries of
the past, but their eyes have always
been fixed on the future, making sure
that their influence, just like their
wealth, will be passed down for
generations to come. The legacy of these
families isn't just in the companies
they built, but in the nation they
helped to shape.
