Famous Canadian Business People

Linus Sebastian is a Canadian YouTube personality whose technology channel Linus Tech Tips is ranked highly among Google's most preferred advertising channels for the technology category on YouTube. Also an entrepreneur, Sebastian owns a video sharing platform called Floatplane Media. Sebastian is also credited with founding Linus Media Group for which he has been serving as the CEO since 2013.

One of 12 children of Polish immigrants, Jack L Warner, along with three of his brothers, formed the iconic production house Warner Bros. Apart from producing the first talkie, The Jazz Singer, and iconic films such as Casablanca, they also launched the careers of the who’s who of Hollywood.

Joe Clark is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and politician. In 1979, he became the youngest person to be elected as the prime minister of Canada and served in this position until 1980. He lost the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 1983 before gaining prominence once again in 1984 when he served as a senior cabinet minister. 

A graduate of Humber College Comedy, Nathan Joseph Fielder is best known for his hit docu-realty television series, Nathan for You. Beginning his career in 2006 as the writer-director of a short film called Morris; he made his  acting debut with a television series called This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Today, he is considered an established writer, director and comedian.

After his 13-year stint with Goldman Sachs, Mark Carney served as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He was also part of the Canadian finance department. He is an ice-hockey lover and played the sport actively during the school and university days.

Brian Mulroney is a Canadian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada. He was in office from September 1984 to June 1993. He is a lawyer by qualification. As the prime minister, he implemented major economic reforms and championed immigration. His tenure also saw the addition of significant new national parks. 

Tech magnate Garrett Camp made headlines in 2020 when he quit his position of board director of Uber, a company co-founded by him, to focus on its product strategy. Camp has also formed companies such as StumbleUpon and the start-up incubator Expa Labs, and is part of The Giving Pledge.

David Baszucki is a Canadian-born American entrepreneur and inventor. He is credited with co-founding the Roblox Corporation, for which he also serves as the CEO. He is also credited with co-founding Knowledge Revolution, a company which was obtained by MSC Software in 1998. In 2017 and 2018, Baszucki was named one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs.

Canadian-American frontiersman, hardware store owner, sheriff, U.S. Marshal, horse breeder and hotel owner Seth Bullock is best known for building the Bullock Hotel, the oldest hotel in Deadwood. Bullock was appointed the first sheriff of the then lawless Dakota where he eventually emerged as a prominent figure civilizing the rowdy camp without killing anyone.

Canadian politician, Rob Ford, served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. His political career was marred by many personal and work-related controversies and legal proceedings. He suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction, and his involvement in a substance abuse scandal nearly killed his career. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and died in 2016.

Canadian writer Robin Sharma is best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series. A qualified lawyer, he is an alumnus of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. He has published several books on stress management and spirituality. He is the founder of the training company Sharma Leadership International.

Vice co-founder and CEO Shane Smith is a renowned journalist and entrepreneur whose work has taken him to remote and war-torn places such as North Korea and Liberia. Listed as one of Canada's Richest People in 2015, he is a self-made millionaire with riches such as an 8-bedroom California mansion.

Canadian pornographer Feras Antoon is best known as co-founder and CEO of the privately held Canadian company called MindGeek that mainly focuses on pornography. It is considered to be the largest pornography company across the world and runs many popular pornographic video sharing websites like Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube, and also adult film production companies like Brazzers and Reality Kings.

The star of hit HGTV series such as Income Property and Moving the McGillivrays, Scott McGillivray also owns real-estate and entertainment firms. He is also a Habitat for Humanity Canada ambassador and has penned bestselling home improvement and real-estate investing books. He divides time between his homes in Ontario and Florida.

Seagram heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. initially avoided joining his family business. Skipping college, he set out to make a career in music and movies, making the commercially unsuccessful film The Border. He later joined Seagram and also served Warner Music as its CEO. He is now the chairman of FuboTV.

Edgar Bronfman Sr. was a Canadian-American entrepreneur best remembered for his role as president, treasurer, and CEO for the popular multinational conglomerate, Seagram. Bronfman was also a philanthropist who helped organizations like Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. In 1999, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Peter Munk was a Hungarian-Canadian investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is credited with founding numerous high-profile business ventures, such as Clairtone Sound Corporation Limited, Barrick Gold Corporation, and TrizecHahn Corporation. He also helped found the Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation which has given away over $300 million to various non-profit organizations that aim at improving the lives of Canadians.

Frank McKenna is a Canadian businessman who is currently serving as the Toronto-Dominion Bank's Deputy Chairman. A former politician, McKenna served as the premier of New Brunswick between 1987 and 1997. An influential and authoritative leader, McKenna was expected to lead the federal Liberal Party in 2008 after the resignation of Stéphane Dion. However, he didn't contest for the position.