Canada is home to a number of successful entrepreneurs and these entrepreneurs have made significant contributions to boosting the country’s economic growth. According to a study, 99.8% of Canadian businesses are small-to-medium-sized companies that have up to 500 hundred employees and only 0.03% are considered large enterprises which means these small-medium companies are integral to the Canadian economy. So in this article, we are going to let you know who are the top Canadian entrepreneurs!
Top Canadian Entrepreneurs
These are the top 15 entrepreneurs of Canada to watch and learn about for your entrepreneur journey.
Michele Romanow
The only Canadian on Forbes’ “Millennials on a Mission”, Michele Romanow has earned countless accomplishments. She earned her first $100,000 profit when she graduated with her engineering degree and successfully ran three companies when she was 25. By the age of 33, she started five profitable companies. She also works with some famous brands such as Netflix, Starbucks, and P&G in terms of creating innovative technology and digital solutions.
Kevin O’Leary
Kevin O’Leary, known as Mr. Wonderful has made a name for himself in business. He is a successful Canadian entrepreneur and businessman who launched SoftKey software products from his house’s basement with absolutely no money. He then sold SoftKey for $4.2 billion which is known today as “Learning Company”. He has engaged in successful investments and business ventures and currently holds an estimated net worth of $400 million per Celebrity Net Worth.
Martha Hall Findlay
One of the top Canadian entrepreneurs on this list is Martha Hall Findlay. Martha Hall Findlay is the CEO of Canada West Foundation. Moreover, she is described as a corporate lawyer and successful entrepreneur with over 25 years of domestic and international experience.
Jennifer Wagner
Jennifer Wagner is considered one of the top Canadian Entrepreneurs who aim to make the earth healthier and a better place to live. Jennifer Wagner is the president of Carbon Cure which is a cleantech company. Under her supervision, the company has designed and developed a technology where it reduces the overall carbon footprint of construction projects.
Tonia Jahshan
Tonia Jahshan started by creating her own loose-leaf tea products and selling them. Today, her humble beginning becomes one of the fastest-growing Canadian companies specializing in home tea parties. Today, Steeped Tea earns over $20 million in annual sales. Aside from running her successful company, Tonia Jahshan also holds entrepreneurial talks to inspire others to follow their passion.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier
Another top Canadian entrepreneur is Joseph-Armand Bombardier. With his creative mind, he has launched the largest railway equipment and civil airplane production company in the world which is Bombardier Limited. This successful entrepreneur once dreamed of inventing vehicles that can operate in the snow and at high speeds. Due to his hard work, he then achieved his goal of developing and selling B7 snowmobiles.
Susan Niczowski
It seems that everyone knows about the Summer Fresh salads and dips, but what you might not know is the woman behind these products. Susan Niczowski is the one who leads the company for three decades. Because of her, the company has successfully changed the perception of food and directed people to consume healthy and organic food.
Leonard Lee
Leonard Lee is a Canadian entrepreneur and founder of an Ottawa-based retail store that specializes in high-quality gardening and woodworking equipment. On top of this, he is also the founder of Canica Design which is a medical design company. Because of his numerous achievements, Lee became a member of “The Order of Canada” in 2002.
Mike Lazaridis
Mike Lazaridis is a university dropout. However, he was driven by his commitment and dedication to doing business. Through this, he co-founded Research in Motion Limited, which is known today as Blackberry. Moreover, Mike runs various organizations such as Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Center for International Governance Innovation. On top of that, he is known to be the most successful Canadian Technologist.
Dani Reiss
Canada Goose which is a famous clothing company in Canada is owned by Dani Reiss. Because of his effort in maintaining production in Canada without sending manufacturing orders overseas, the company made billions of dollars. Thanks to his business approach, Canada Goose now employs over 3,400 workers. Therefore, his company plays a vital role in the country’s socioeconomic development.
Jenny Bird
Because of her passion for designing, Jenny Bird has launched her own self-named jewelry company. Her company has grown over the years and is now recognized worldwide. In fact, her company was included in Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies and took home the 2018 Accessories Designer of the Year at Project, and more.
Tara Bosch
Tara started selling her own candy creations during her junior year. Her product makes sense to anyone who loves sweets but also wants to remain health-conscious. This means less sugar without compromising the taste. After gaining popularity with her self-made treats, she eventually dropped out of school and pursued her career as an entrepreneur and ran her own company which is called the SmartSweets. By the year 2019, her company generated over $50,000,000 of revenue.
Stephanie Ciccarelli
Stephanie Ciccarelli is a graduate of Bachelor of Musical Arts from Western University. She used her experience in the industry to develop an award-winning company of her own which is called Voices.com, an online marketplace to connect producers, marketers, and instructors with creative talent. In addition, Stephanie made it to PROFIT Magazine’s W100 list a handful of times.
Hamid Arabzadeh
The CEO of Ranovus, Hamid Arabzadeh easily makes the list of some of the most impressive Canadian entrepreneurs. Prior to Ranovus, Hamid held various senior management positions at famous firms including Identos Inc., Motive Health, and more. Plus, he’s been able to drive innovations including a secured laser technology that boasts 40 times the capacity of regular fiber optic cables, without the carbon footprint.
Jodie Morgan
Jodie Morgan has successfully helped build five companies with her serving as CEO/president. One of the companies that she oversees is GreenMantra Technologies, an innovative firm that turns unused plastics into polymer additives, artificial waxes, and other chemicals. Definitely, an accomplishment to target pollution and be profitable at the same time!
Takeaways
Entrepreneurship can definitely improve your standard of living. Aside from the marketing books, operation management books, audiobook, and entrepreneurial magazines that we have provided in our previous blogs, we hope that this top Canadian entrepreneurs list can inspire and help you in striving to reach your entrepreneurial dream. Because you too, can be the next to join these famous entrepreneurs as the next big Candian success.
