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Top 10 Packaging Companies in Canada 2026

Our 2026 ranking of the top 10 packaging companies in Canada, including CCL Industries, Cascades, Smurfit Westrock, Amcor and Winpak, with verified revenue, Canadian plants and recent news.

Packaging Companies in Canada

Every product on a Canadian store shelf arrives in something. A box, a pouch, a label, a tray, a film. Most shoppers never think about it. Brand owners think about it constantly.

Packaging in Canada is big business and getting bigger. Towards Packaging valued the Canadian packaging and containers manufacturing market at about US$60.5 billion in 2025 and expects it to grow 4.6% a year through 2035. The deals are big too. In March 2026, ProAmpac closed its C$2.1 billion purchase of TC Transcontinental Packaging, one of the largest packaging transactions in the country in years.

At the same time, buyers are asking harder questions. Can the packaging be recycled? How much recycled content does it carry? Can the supplier ship from a Canadian plant if cross-border trade gets messy? Those questions favor companies with strong domestic footprints, deep material science and the balance sheet to keep investing.

We looked at the companies that the top search results and industry rankings name most often, then checked each one against its latest annual results and 2026 news. The list mixes homegrown giants, global groups with major Canadian operations and a few specialists that punch above their size. This guide looks at the top 10 packaging companies in Canada for 2026.

Why Canadian Businesses Rely on Specialist Packaging Partners

Product Protection Across Long Supply Chains

Canada is a big country with long, cold shipping routes. Good packaging keeps food fresh, keeps medicine sterile and keeps fragile goods intact from the plant to the shelf. The right partner designs for those conditions instead of guessing.

Sustainability Targets and Recycled Content

Retailers and regulators keep raising the bar on recyclability and recycled content. Leading converters now offer 100% recycled containerboard, mono-material films and resin systems built for post-consumer recycled plastic. That lets brands hit their targets without starting from scratch.

Brand Impact at the Shelf

Packaging is often the last thing a shopper sees before buying. Labels, sleeves, folding cartons and printed displays carry the brand story. Specialist suppliers bring print quality and decoration options most companies could not build in-house.

Domestic Capacity and Supply Security

Several of the top 10 packaging companies in Canada have added domestic capacity for a reason. Tariff swings in 2025 reminded many Canadian manufacturers how exposed they are to cross-border supply. Working with packaging companies that run plants in Canada shortens lead times and reduces that risk.

Top 10 Packaging Companies in Canada at a Glance

Rank Company Core segment Key figure
1 CCL Industries Labels, films, specialty packaging C$7.66 billion in 2025 sales
2 Cascades Recycled containerboard and corrugated packaging C$4.78 billion in 2025 sales
3 Smurfit Westrock Paper-based packaging 12 plants in Canada; US$31.2 billion in 2025 net sales
4 Amcor Flexible and rigid plastic packaging US$23.5 billion in fiscal 2026 net sales
5 Winpak Flexible and rigid food and healthcare packaging US$1.13 billion in 2025 revenue
6 Kruger Packaging Recycled containerboard and corrugated boxes About 360,000 tonnes a year of recycled linerboard capacity at Trois-Rivières
7 ProAmpac Flexible packaging C$2.1 billion TC Transcontinental Packaging deal closed March 2026
8 Axium Packaging Plastic bottles, jars and tubes 227,000 sq ft Brampton plant opened 2025
9 Supremex Envelopes, folding cartons, specialty packaging C$274.8 million in 2025 revenue
10 Great Little Box Company Custom corrugated boxes and displays 500+ employees; Edmonton plant started 2025

Top 10 Packaging Companies in Canada (2026)

Here are the top 10 packaging companies in Canada, ranked on scale, Canadian footprint, innovation and recent performance.

1. CCL Industries

Founded in 1951 and headquartered in Toronto, CCL Industries is the largest Canadian-based packaging company by revenue. It runs four businesses: CCL (pressure-sensitive and specialty labels), Avery, Checkpoint and Innovia films. The group employs about 26,000 people across 214 production facilities in 42 countries.

CCL reported record 2025 sales of C$7.66 billion, up 5.8%, with net earnings of C$802.4 million. The CCL segment alone brought in C$4.88 billion. In 2026 the company raised its quarterly dividend by 12.5%, budgeted C$470 million for capital spending, and on June 1 closed its acquisition of Sleever International, a maker of shrink sleeve labels, films and application equipment.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Pressure-sensitive and shrink sleeve labels
✔ Specialty films through Innovia
✔ Retail security and RFID labels through Checkpoint
✔ Healthcare and consumer product labeling

Best for: Consumer, healthcare and beverage brands that need high-volume, high-quality labels and decoration.

2. Cascades

Cascades was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Kingsey Falls, Quebec. It makes containerboard, corrugated boxes, specialty packaging and tissue paper. The company has about 9,200 employees and 64 operating facilities in North America, including 17 recovery and recycling sites.

Cascades posted 2025 sales of C$4.78 billion, up from C$4.70 billion in 2024, and its Packaging Products segment generated C$3.08 billion of that. Under CEO Hugues Simon, the company has passed its C$120 million target for selling redundant assets and expects 2026 results to beat 2025. Its Bear Island mill in Virginia makes recycled lightweight containerboard for its box plants.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Recycled containerboard and corrugated boxes
✔ Specialty and food packaging
✔ Recovery and recycling services
✔ Tissue papers for retail and away-from-home markets

Best for: Brands that want recycled-fiber corrugated packaging from a Canadian-headquartered supplier.

3. Smurfit Westrock

Smurfit Westrock is one of the world’s largest paper-based packaging companies, formed by the 2024 combination of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock. It operates in 40 countries with about 97,000 employees and is led by president and CEO Tony Smurfit. In Canada it has 12 plants across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

The company reported 2025 net sales of US$31.2 billion and net income of US$699 million. It is also reshaping its footprint. In March 2026 it announced plans to close a paper machine with 127,000 tons a year of solid bleached sulfate capacity at its La Tuque, Quebec mill, along with an extrusion facility in Pointe-aux-Trembles, citing scale and cost challenges.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Corrugated boxes and shipping containers
✔ Folding cartons and consumer packaging
✔ Containerboard and paperboard
✔ Retail displays

Best for: Large manufacturers and retailers that need corrugated and carton supply at North American scale.

4. Amcor

Founded in Australia in 1896 and now based in Zurich, Amcor is one of the world’s biggest makers of flexible and rigid plastic packaging. It completed its all-stock merger with Berry Global in 2025, creating a group with about 75,000 people and roughly 400 locations in more than 40 countries. In Canada, Amcor has run rigid container production in Toronto since it bought Plastics Moulders Limited in 2016.

The Berry deal pushed Amcor’s fiscal 2026 net sales (year to June 30) up 57% to US$23.5 billion, with net income of US$1.1 billion. Since then it has announced a low-carbon packaging partnership with Dow and named Tom Long to succeed Graeme Liebelt as board chair. The company is also reviewing its portfolio for non-core businesses to restructure or sell.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Flexible films, pouches and lidding
✔ Rigid containers, bottles and closures
✔ Healthcare and pharmaceutical packaging
✔ Recycle-ready and recycled-content films

Best for: Food, beverage, personal care and healthcare brands that need global plastic packaging capability.

5. Winpak

Headquartered in Winnipeg, Winpak was incorporated in 1975 and started operations in 1978. It makes high-performance packaging materials and packaging machinery for perishable food, beverages and healthcare products. Its product groups cover flexible packaging, rigid packaging and lidding, and machinery, with Canadian plants in Winnipeg and Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec.

Winpak reports in US dollars. For fiscal 2025 it posted revenue of US$1.13 billion and net income of US$137.2 million. The company is known for modified atmosphere packaging, specialty films and lidding for dairy, meat and medical applications, areas where barrier performance and food safety matter more than the lowest price.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Modified atmosphere and barrier films
✔ Rigid containers and lidding materials
✔ Biaxially oriented nylon films
✔ Packaging machinery

Best for: Food processors and healthcare companies that need high-barrier packaging from a Canadian-headquartered supplier.

6. Kruger Packaging

Kruger Packaging is part of Kruger Inc., the Montreal family company founded in 1904 that now employs about 5,500 people. The packaging business makes 100% recycled containerboard and corrugated boxes for food, beverage, dairy, produce and industrial customers, with box plants in LaSalle, Quebec, and Brampton, Ontario.

Kruger has invested heavily in recycled board. It converted a newsprint machine at its Trois-Rivières mill into a line making about 360,000 tonnes a year of 100% recycled lightweight linerboard. It also upgraded its Place Turcot mill in Montreal with a project of more than C$30 million to make 100% recycled saturating kraft board. In May 2026, Ottawa announced C$35 million toward a separate Kruger project at its Wayagamack mill to make plastic-free nonwoven material.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ 100% recycled linerboard and containerboard
✔ Corrugated shipping containers
✔ Heavy-duty boxes for appliances and auto parts
✔ Specialty recycled boards

Best for: Brands in Ontario and Quebec that want recycled corrugated packaging from a long-established Canadian mill group.

7. ProAmpac (TC Transcontinental Packaging)

Cincinnati-based ProAmpac became a much bigger player in Canadian packaging on March 6, 2026, when it closed its C$2.1 billion acquisition of TC Transcontinental Packaging from Montreal’s TC Transcontinental. The deal brought in 25 plants, about 3,500 employees and annualized revenue of roughly C$1.6 billion. ProAmpac is owned by Pritzker Private Capital and led by founder and CEO Greg Tucker.

After the deal, ProAmpac has about 80 manufacturing sites and around 11,000 employees worldwide. The acquired business adds extrusion, printing, lamination, converting and recycling capabilities, plus strong positions in protein, dairy, pet food and agricultural packaging. ProAmpac says the combination will speed up work on barrier films, mono-material structures and fiber-based formats.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Flexible pouches and bags
✔ Barrier and mono-material films
✔ Protein and dairy packaging
✔ Fiber-based flexible formats

Best for: Food and consumer brands moving to recyclable flexible packaging.

8. Axium Packaging

Axium Packaging was founded in Mississauga, Ontario, in 2010, starting with six desks and three machines. The family-owned company, led by the Judge family, now has 25 facilities across North America and makes plastic bottles, jars, tubes and closures for multinational personal care, home cleaning, food, pharmaceutical and nutrition brands.

In September 2025 Axium opened a 227,000-square-foot plant in Brampton, its third in Ontario, with more than 45 lines for injection stretch blow molding, extrusion blow molding, injection molding and decoration. The plant has 10 resin silos, three of them for post-consumer recycled plastic, which Axium uses in up to 30% of its packaging. In December 2025 it also announced a US$45 million expansion of tube production in Ohio.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Blow-molded bottles and jars
✔ Injection-molded closures
✔ Tubes for personal care products
✔ Decoration and finishing

Best for: Personal care and household brands that need high-volume rigid plastic packaging with recycled content.

9. Supremex

Founded in 1977 and headquartered in Montreal, Supremex is a leading Canadian envelope maker and a growing supplier of folding cartons and specialty packaging. Led by CEO Stewart Emerson, it serves customers in Canada and the United States through two segments: envelopes, and packaging and specialty products.

Supremex reported 2025 revenue of C$274.8 million and returned to profit with net earnings of C$12 million, up from a net loss of C$11.7 million in 2024. Packaging is the growth story. Fourth-quarter packaging and specialty revenue rose 18.3% to C$24 million, helped by folding carton wins and the July 2025 acquisition of Trans-Graphique. In February 2026 it extended its credit facility to July 2028.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Folding cartons
✔ Envelopes and mailers
✔ E-commerce packaging
✔ Specialty printed products

Best for: Consumer goods and direct-mail customers that want carton and envelope supply from one Canadian vendor.

10. Great Little Box Company

Founded in 1982 with three employees and some second-hand machinery, Great Little Box Company now runs a manufacturing site of more than 500,000 square feet in Richmond, British Columbia. It makes custom and stock corrugated boxes, point-of-purchase displays, folding cartons, labels, flexible packaging and protective packaging.

The company has more than 500 employees and keeps expanding. Manufacturing started at its second plant in Edmonton in 2025, and it runs distribution in Kelowna, Victoria and Everett, Washington. It has been named one of BC’s Top Employers, a Platinum member of Canada’s Best Managed Companies and one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures.

Key Packaging Solutions
✔ Custom corrugated boxes
✔ Point-of-purchase displays
✔ Digital print packaging and labels
✔ Protective packaging and shipping supplies

Best for: Western Canadian businesses that want custom boxes and displays with fast local service.

Also read: Top 10 Leading Architecture Companies in Canada

How to Choose the Right Packaging Partner in Canada

Match the Material to the Product

Even the top 10 packaging companies in Canada specialize. Corrugated, flexible film, rigid plastic and labels are very different businesses. Start with what your product needs, whether that is barrier protection, stacking strength or shelf appeal, and shortlist companies that specialize in that material.

Check the Canadian Footprint

A global brand name does not always mean local production. Ask where your packaging will actually be made, how far it travels and what backup capacity exists if a plant goes down.

Ask for Proof on Sustainability

Recycled content and recyclability claims should come with numbers. Ask for the percentage of recycled content, the recycling stream the package fits and any third-party certifications.

Look at Financial Strength

Packaging lines are long-term commitments. A supplier with steady results and ongoing investment is less likely to cut capacity or close the plant you depend on.

Test Service and Speed

Large groups bring scale, while regional specialists often move faster on short runs and design changes. Run a small trial order before signing a long contract.

Frequently Asked Questions About Packaging Companies in Canada

Which is the largest packaging company in Canada?

Among Canadian-headquartered companies, CCL Industries is the largest by revenue, with C$7.66 billion in 2025 sales. Global groups such as Smurfit Westrock and Amcor are bigger worldwide and run plants in Canada.

Which Canadian packaging companies focus on recycled materials?

Cascades and Kruger Packaging both build their packaging businesses around recycled fiber. Axium Packaging uses post-consumer recycled plastic in up to 30% of its packaging.

What is the best packaging company in Canada?

There is no single best choice for everyone, even among the top 10 packaging companies in Canada. A food processor needing barrier films will look at Winpak, Amcor or ProAmpac, while a retailer needing custom boxes may be better served by Great Little Box Company or a corrugated specialist.

Is the Canadian packaging market growing?

Yes. Towards Packaging valued the Canadian packaging and containers market at about US$60.5 billion in 2025 and forecasts 4.6% annual growth from 2026 to 2035.

Conclusion

The top 10 packaging companies in Canada cover everything from billion-dollar label makers to a Richmond box company that started with three people. What they share is steady investment, a real Canadian presence and a clear answer to the recycling question.

The right choice depends on your product, your volumes and where you sell. Use this list of the top 10 packaging companies in Canada as a starting point, then test a few suppliers against your own needs before you commit.

Chirag Thakur

Editor, Business News · CEO Review Magazine

Chirag Thakur covers business news for CEO Review Magazine, along with markets, technology and industry explainers and the magazine's Top 10 rankings of companies and leaders.

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