Top 10 Packaging Companies in Canada 2026

All the goods you see on a Canadian store shelf are packaged in something. Packaging can take many forms: boxes, pouches, labels, trays and films. Consumers rarely notice it. Brand owners think about it constantly.

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

Buyers are also asking harder questions about packaging. Can it be recycled? How much recycled content does it carry? Can the supplier ship from a Canadian plant if cross-border trade gets messy? All of these questions favor companies with a strong presence in Canada, deep material science and the balance sheet to keep investing.

We started with the companies that top search results and industry rankings name most often, then checked each company’s most recent 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. These are 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 vast country with harsh climates and long shipping routes. Packaging goods correctly keeps food fresh, keeps medicine sterile and keeps fragile products in perfect condition on the way from the plant to the shelf. Work with a packaging company that designs for those conditions instead of guessing.

Sustainability Targets and Recycled Content

Retailers and regulators keep raising the bar on recyclability and recycled content. Many leading converters now offer 100% recycled containerboard, mono-material films and resin systems that accept post-consumer recycled plastic. That helps brands meet their sustainability goals 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 all play a role in telling the brand story. Specialist suppliers bring print quality and decoration options that most companies could not build in-house.

Domestic Capacity and Supply Security

The tariff swings of 2025 reminded many Canadian manufacturers how exposed they are to cross-border supply, and several of the top 10 packaging companies in Canada have expanded their domestic capacity for that reason. 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

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 has four divisions: 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.

In 2025, CCL Industries posted record sales of C$7.66 billion, a 5.8% increase over the previous year, with net earnings of C$802.4 million. The CCL segment alone generated 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

Founded in 1964, Cascades is headquartered in Kingsey Falls, Quebec. It produces containerboard, corrugated boxes, specialty packaging and tissue paper. The company has about 9,200 employees working in 64 operating facilities across North America, 17 of which are 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 accounted for C$3.08 billion of that. Under CEO Hugues Simon, the company has exceeded its C$120 million target for selling redundant assets and expects 2026 results to outperform 2025. It also operates the Bear Island mill in Virginia, which produces 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 leading paper-based packaging companies, formed by the 2024 combination of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock. It employs about 97,000 people in 40 countries and is led by president and CEO Tony Smurfit. In Canada it operates 12 plants in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

In 2025, Smurfit Westrock reported net sales of US$31.2 billion and net income of US$699 million. The company 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 headquartered 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 employees and roughly 400 locations in more than 40 countries. In Canada, Amcor has made rigid containers in Toronto since acquiring Plastics Moulders Limited in 2016.

Following the Berry Global deal, Amcor’s net sales rose 57% to US$23.5 billion in fiscal 2026 (the year ending June 30), 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. Amcor is also reviewing its portfolio for non-core businesses to sell or restructure.

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 began operations in 1978. It manufactures 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 its financials in US dollars. For fiscal 2025 it posted revenue of US$1.13 billion and net income of US$137.2 million. The company specializes in 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 a division of Kruger Inc., a Montreal-based family business founded in 1904 that today has about 5,500 employees. The packaging business produces containerboard and corrugated boxes from 100% recycled fiber for food, beverage, dairy, produce and industrial customers, with box plants in LaSalle, Quebec, and Brampton, Ontario.

Kruger has invested heavily in recycled board. At its Trois-Rivières mill, it converted a newsprint machine into a line that makes 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.

ProAmpac now operates about 80 manufacturing sites and employs around 11,000 people 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 bringing these assets together will speed up its 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 started in Mississauga, Ontario, in 2010 with just six desks and three machines. The family-owned company, led by the Judge family, now operates 25 facilities across North America and produces 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 dedicated to post-consumer recycled plastic, which Axium uses in up to 30% of its packaging. In December 2025, Axium also announced a US$45 million expansion of its 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 throughout Canada and the United States through two segments: envelopes, and packaging and specialty products.

Supremex generated revenue of C$274.8 million in 2025 and returned to profit, with net earnings of C$12 million compared with 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, driven by folding carton wins and the July 2025 acquisition of Trans-Graphique. In February 2026, Supremex 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

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

The company employs more than 500 people and continues to grow. Manufacturing began at its second plant in Edmonton in 2025, and it also has distribution locations in Kelowna, Victoria and Everett, Washington. Great Little Box Company 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, and each requires a different skill set. 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. Find out where your packaging will actually be made, how far it will have to travel 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 can often move faster on short runs and design changes. Run a small trial order before signing a long-term 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 generate more revenue worldwide and operate plants in Canada.

Which Canadian packaging companies focus on recycled materials?

Both Cascades and Kruger Packaging 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. It depends on your application. A food processor that needs barrier films will most likely look at Winpak, Amcor or ProAmpac, while a retailer that needs custom boxes may be better served by Great Little Box Company or a corrugated specialist.

Is the Canadian packaging market growing?

Yes. According to Towards Packaging, the Canadian packaging and containers market was worth about US$60.5 billion in 2025 and is forecast to grow 4.6% a year from 2026 to 2035.

Conclusion

The top 10 packaging companies in Canada range from a label maker with billions in revenue to a Richmond, BC 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 packaging company for you 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.