List of defunct Canadian companies

This is a list of defunct Canadian companies.

Defunct companies (including acquired and merged)
Note: many of these companies are still operating under the same name; they are just owned by others.


 * Abitibi Power and Paper Company – part of Abitibi-Consolidated, now part of Resolute Forest Products
 * Agricore – merged with United Grain Growers Ltd. to form Agricore United
 * Aikenhead's Hardware – hardware store, acquired by Home Depot
 * AMC Theatres Canada – some locations acquired by Cineplex Entertainment, others closed
 * Bricklin Automobile
 * Bytown and Prescott Railway – acquired by Canadian Pacific Railway
 * Canada Wire and Cable – manufacturer, acquired by Alcatel
 * Carling O'Keefe – brewery, acquired by Molson
 * Chapters – acquired by Indigo Books and Music
 * Cineplex Odeon – acquired by Loews Theatres
 * Consumers Distributing – catalogue retail store chain
 * CTV (Canadian Television) – acquired by Bell Globemedia; formerly Baton Broadcasting, et al
 * Diemaco – firearm and defense company; acquired by Colt's Manufacturing Company
 * Dow Breweries
 * Dylex – acquired by Hardof Wolf Group
 * E. B. Eddy Company – acquired by Domtar
 * Eaton's – Department store chain – bankrupt in 1999
 * Future Shop – acquired by Best Buy
 * Honest Ed's – a discount retail store
 * Jetsgo
 * Job Brothers & Co., Limited
 * John Inglis and Company – kitchen appliance maker
 * McLaughlin Motor Car Co. – merged with General Motors
 * Noranda – merged with Falconbridge
 * Nova Scotia Light and Power Company, Limited – acquired by the Province of Nova Scotia; assets leased to * Nova Scotia Power Corporation
 * Ontario Malleable Iron Company – iron foundry
 * PetroKazakhstan – acquired by China National Petroleum Corporation
 * Polymer Corporation – sold to NOVA Corp and then Bayer AG
 * Radio Shack (Canadian division) – electronics store
 * Seagram – spirits and wine
 * Target Canada – closed because of a $2.1 billion loss for Target Corporation
 * Terra Transport
 * Towers Department Stores – department store chain; acquired by Zellers
 * Union Bank of Halifax – now part of the Royal Bank of Canada
 * United Grain Growers Ltd. – merged with Agricore to form Agricore United
 * Vidéotron – cable; now owned by Quebecor
 * Woodward's – acquired by Hudson's Bay Company
 * Woolco (Canadian division) – department store chain; acquired by Wal-Mart Canada
 * Zellers (Canadian division) – department store chain; acquired by now defunct chain Target Canada

Aerospace

 * Avro Canada – airplane manufacturer, maker of the Avro Arrow and the Avro Aerocar.
 * Canadair – acquired by Bombardier
 * de Havilland Canada – acquired by Boeing and a few years later acquired by Bombardier
 * Spar Aerospace – split up and acquired by MacDonald Dettwiler, L-3 Communications and Bombardier

Airlines

 * Air Atlantic
 * Air BC – merged with Air Canada Jazz
 * Air Ontario – merged with Air Canada Jazz
 * AllCanada Express
 * Austin Airways – acquired by Air Ontario
 * Canada 3000 – folded, discount airline
 * Canadian Airlines – acquired by Air Canada
 * Canadian Pacific Airlines – acquired by Canadian Airlines
 * Canadian Regional Airlines – merged with Air Canada Jazz
 * Eastern Provincial Airways – acquired by Canadian Pacific Airlines
 * Globemaster Air Cargo
 * Great Lakes Airlines (Canada) – acquired by Air Ontario
 * Greyhound Air
 * Harmony Airways
 * Inter-Canadien
 * Jetsgo
 * Lamb Air
 * Lynx Air
 * Maestro
 * Nationair
 * Nolisair
 * NorOntair
 * North Canada Air – acquired by Time Air
 * Pacific Western Airlines
 * Peace Air
 * Quebecair Express
 * Queen Charlotte Airlines – acquired by Pacific Western Airlines
 * QuikAir
 * Roots Air
 * Royal Aviation – acquired by Canada 3000
 * Sonicblue Airways
 * Southern Frontier Airlines – acquired by Time Air
 * Time Air – acquired by Air Canada Jazz
 * Trans-Provincial Airlines – acquired by Harbour Air
 * Triton Airlines
 * Val Air
 * Vision Airways Corporation
 * Vistajet
 * WardAir – acquired by Canadian Airlines
 * Winnport
 * World-Wide Airways
 * Zip – merged with Air Canada
 * Zoom Airlines

Banking, finance and insurance

 * Bank of America Canada – subsidiary of the United States-based bank chain Bank of America
 * Bank of British Columbia (1862) – acquired by Canadian Commercial Bank
 * Bank of British Columbia (1978) – acquired by HSBC Bank Canada
 * Bank of British North America – acquired by Bank of Montreal
 * Bank of Hamilton – acquired by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
 * Bank of New Brunswick – acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia
 * Bank of Upper Canada
 * Canada Trust – acquired by Toronto-Dominion Bank
 * Canadian Commercial Bank
 * City Bank
 * Consolidated Bank of Canada
 * Continental Bank of Canada – acquired by Lloyds Bank of Canada
 * Home Bank of Canada – failed in 1923
 * Lloyds Bank of Canada – acquired by HSBC Bank Canada
 * Maritime Life – acquired by Manulife Financial
 * Royal Trust – acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Biotech, medical

 * DVS Sciences – acquired by Fluidigm (2014) and changed their name to Standard BioTools (2022)

Computer hardware and software

 * AliasWavefront – developers of industry leading Maya 3D software; in 2006 it was bought out by Autodesk Inc.
 * ATI Technologies – bought out by AMD
 * Ferranti-Packard – early mainframe systems
 * HCR Corporation – early Unix company, acquired by Santa Cruz Operation, later closed
 * I. P. Sharp Associates – time share company
 * Imanet – international trade software
 * Sitebrand – online marketing company
 * Watcom International Corporation – acquired by Sybase

Consumer retail, including grocery

 * Aeropostale Canada – subsidiary of the United States-based retailer Aeropostale, closed all 41 stores in Canada in 2016
 * A&A Records – founded in Toronto at the end of WWII, it was the dominant record chain store in Canada until being superseded by Sam the Record Man in the 1960s; it became defunct in 1993
 * A&B Sound – home electronics retailer based in Richmond, BC; founded in 1959, it had expanded as far as Winnipeg, Manitoba by 2000, but its subsequent decline saw the company go bankrupt by 2008
 * Bata Shoes – shoe retailer and manufacturer
 * Beaver Lumber – hardware/lumber store chain; acquired by Home Hardware
 * Big Lots Canada
 * Dominion – grocery store chain
 * Bi-Way – discount store chain
 * Eaton's – bankrupt, assets acquired by Sears Canada
 * Express – subsidiary of the United States-based clothing retailer Express, closed all 17 stores in Canada in 2017
 * Food City – grocery store chain
 * Granada TV Rental- electronic consumer goods retail rental outlets
 * Hard Rock Cafe -all Canadian Cafe locations closed by 2017 but Hard Rock Casino still exist in Coquitlam, BC, Vancouver, BC, and a new location is set to open in Ottawa in 2021 Hard Rock Cafe still has a location in Niagara Falls, Ontario in Canada.
 * HMV Canada – entertainment media chain owned by Hilco; originally a subsidiary of England-based retailer HMV; closed all stores in April 2017, the majority of locations became Sunrise Records
 * Kmart Canada – subsidiary of US chain, some assets acquired by Zellers
 * Knob Hill Farms – grocery store chain
 * Kresge (Canadian division) – discount store chain
 * Lumberland Building Materials (BC-based store founded in Surrey; it merged with Revy Home Centres in 1997, which then was acquired by Rona in 2001)
 * LW Stores – discount store chain; acquired by Big Lots in 2010 and closed all stores in 2014
 * Marks & Spencer – major British retailer; had operated in Canada since 1973; closed all Canadian operations by 1999
 * Miracle Mart – discount store owned by the Steinberg family
 * Miracle Food Mart – grocery store chain
 * Morgan's – department store chain
 * Pascal – bankrupt in 1991 (Hardware Stores) – 1994 (furniture stores) – 2008 (Pascal Hotel Supplies)
 * RadioShack Canada – renamed The Source by Circuit City in 2005
 * Revelstoke Home Centres Ltd. (aka Revy's or Revy Home Centres; owned by the West Fraser Timber Company, this was a major home improvement retailer headquartered in Revelstoke, BC; merged with Rona in 2001 )
 * Sam The Record Man – record/entertainment media stores
 * Sam's Club Canada – warehouse store chain and the subsidiary of Walmart Canada; closed in 2009
 * Sears Canada – department store chain and the Canadian subsidiary of the American-based Sears, all stores closed in January 2018
 * Shoprite Catalogue order store, went bankrupt in 1970s.
 * Simpsons – department store chain (AKA Simpson's Sears and Sears Roebuck)
 * Steinberg's – grocery store chain
 * Target Canada – Canadian subsidiary of the American-based department store chain Target Corporation, closed all stores in 2015
 * Thrifty's – denim/clothing store
 * Towers – department store chain
 * Toy City – a toy store chain, a subsidiary of Consumers Distributing
 * Woodward's – department store chain
 * Woolco – discount department store, acquired by Wal-Mart providing an expansion route into the Canadian market
 * Zellers – discount department store; store properties bought by Target Corporation and most converted into Target Canada stores

Food and beverage

 * Mitchell's Gourmet Foods – acquired by Maple Leaf Foods
 * Mother's Pizza

Mining and energy

 * Bre-X – gold mining company, collapsed in fraud
 * Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation
 * Eldorado Resources – uranium mining, merged with Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation to form Cameco (1988)
 * Gulf Canada Resources – acquired by Conoco
 * Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. – mining
 * Lightstream Resources Ltd. – oil and gas (dissolved under corporate legislation)
 * Noranda – mining, merged with Falconbridge Ltd. (2005)
 * Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation (SMDC) – uranium mining, merged with Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited to form Cameco (1988)
 * Teck Cominco – mining
 * Westcoast Energy – acquired by Duke Energy
 * West Kootenay Power & Light – acquired by Fortis Inc

A-B

 * Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway
 * Algoma Central Railway – acquired by Canadian National Railways (CN)
 * BC Rail – now part of CN
 * Belt Line Railway – acquired by CN

C-E

 * Canada Atlantic Railway
 * Canada Eastern Railway
 * Canada Southern Railway
 * Canadian Government Railways
 * Canadian Northern Pacific Railway
 * Canadian Northern Railway
 * Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad
 * Columbia and Kootenay Railway
 * Devco Railway
 * Dominion Atlantic Railway

E-G

 * European and North American Railway
 * Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway -acquired by Canadian Pacific Railway
 * Grand River Railway – acquired by Canadian Pacific
 * Grand Trunk Pacific Railway – acquired by CN
 * Great Western Railway

H-K

 * Halifax and Southwestern Railway
 * Huntsville and Lake of Bays Transportation Company – steamship and railway
 * Intercolonial Railway of Canada
 * International Railway
 * Kaslo and Slocan Railway
 * Kettle Valley Railway

M-N

 * Metropolitan Street Railway of Toronto
 * Midland Railway of Canada
 * Nakusp and Slocan Railway
 * National Transcontinental Railway
 * Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railway
 * New Brunswick Railway
 * Newfoundland Railway
 * Northern Alberta Railways
 * Northern Railway of Canada
 * Nosbonsing and Nipissing Railway
 * Nova Scotia Railway

O-P

 * Ontario and Quebec Railway
 * Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway
 * Parry Sound Colonization Railway
 * Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway
 * Prince Edward Island Railway

S-T

 * Sydney and Louisburg Railway
 * Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway
 * Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company
 * Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company
 * Toronto and York Radial Railway
 * Toronto Suburban Railway

Telecommunications companies

 * Nortel – established in 1895; in 2000 accounted for more than a third of the total valuation of all the companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)