Leger, the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company, has released its 27th annual Reputation study – unveiling the list of the most reputable companies according to Canadians in 2024.
The Top 10 Most Reputable Companies in Canada in 2024
The maximum possible reputation score is 100. This year, according to Canadians, the most reputable companies are:
- Google (Reputation Score: 75)
- Sony (Reputation Score: 72)
- Canadian Tire (Reputation Score: 71)
- Samsung (Reputation Score: 71)
- YouTube (Reputation Score: 70)
- Shoppers Drug Mart (Reputation Score: 69)
- Microsoft (Reputation Score: 69)
- Amazon (Reputation Score: 68)
- Dollarama (Reputation Score: 68)
- Costco (Reputation Score: 68)
Leger surveyed more than 38,000 Canadians to explore their perspectives on close to 300 companies across 30 different sectors. Conducted annually, it is based on Leger’s exclusive model of six recognized pillars of reputation—financial strength, social responsibility, honesty and transparency, quality, attachment and innovation.
As Canadians struggle with turbulent economic times throughout the country, Canadians are looking for companies that can cater to their needs during these tough times and will be more forgiving to those companies that understand and respond to consumers’ needs, said Leger.
“Although certain sectors experienced greater reputation losses and gains than others during these unsettled economic times, we also see an overall resiliency of corporate Canada in this year’s study. The overall reputation of Leger’s cross-section of corporate Canada has remained stable with an average company reputation change of 0,” said Lisa Covens, Senior Vice President.
“This stability highlights the dynamic equilibrium within the landscape of corporate reputation, showcasing resilience even as Canadians shift their confidence among various brands.”
Leger said eight of the top 10 companies in 2023 remain in the top 10 this year (Google, Sony, Shoppers Drug Mart, Samsung, and Canadian Tire, Dollarama, and Costco). Google, remaining at #1, has kept its reputation stable and remains in the top spot for the second year in a row. Keeping consistent with the current fiscal climate, Canadian company Dollarama reaches #9, while Costco, geared towards Canadians looking for maximized savings, remains in its position in the top 10 this year (#9).
“(Reputation) attracts customers. It brings their attention, their spending. If you lose reputation then the customers aren’t as likely to engage with you and less likely to go into your stores or go to your website and just do business with you overall,” explained Covens.
“When there is a problem with reputation, customers want to disassociate with you. For retailers if you think of some of the big brands that are sort of splashy in their branding and I’m thinking of those brands we have seen on people’s shirts, with reputation if a company such as one of those ran into reputation trouble you really wouldn’t want to wear that on your body anymore.
“That’s an extreme example of where reputation really matters. And just generally people know where their friends and family shop for retail. If you run into trouble, you’re not going to want to be seen as shopping there, you’re not going to want to talk about it, you’re not going to want to actually shop there and spend your money. It’s important. It’s important for everybody and every company across our society really.”
Covens said companies can always move the needle if for some reason they have a bad reputation.
“You can always figure out what’s important to your sector and do the good work, the hard work, that goes with that,” she said.
“So if you run into trouble you want to turn things around . . . You really need to invest where things make sense. Obviously try to address whatever the crisis got you in hot water in the first place but then to do the hard work that follows, really invest your time, your money and your energy into what makes sense for your sector.”
She said retailers should invest their efforts in corporate citizenship in reducing their carbon footprint.
Leger said there were a few industries/sectors whose reputations improved in the last year.
“For example, as sports leagues returned to pre-COVID attendance levels and fan experiences, the MLB (+5), MLS (+5) and the CFL (+4) all had their reputations increase through the lens of the Canadian public,” said the company.
“The telecommunications industry also had a rebound year, and had an average of +5 in their score this year. This increase was highlighted by Rogers, who appear to have recovered from their service reliability issues of a year ago with a 14-point increase in their reputation from last year. As well, Telus saw their score increase by 5 points this year.
“At the other end of the Reputation spectrum, the transport industry saw many of its companies’ reputations drop. For example, the public’s perception of Sunwing’s reputation declined by 9 points from last year. It is possible negative news coverage associated with last-minute holiday cancellations and pulling out of Saskatchewan contributed to this decline. Other similar providers in the sector also experienced declines as VIA Rail dropped by 6 points, followed by WestJet (-4) and Air Canada (-3).”
The Leger study also looked at ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) as a driver of corporate reputation.
“What we found is the data underscores a critical insight: consumers are increasingly discerning, rewarding companies that truly integrate their stated values into their business models.,” said Shanze Khan, Senior Research Director.
“In a competitive landscape, with companies vying for finite attention, it is imperative to focus efforts on sector-relevant initiatives rather than diluting them across numerous fronts. This shift towards authentic and impactful action, aligned with their sector, is indicative of the evolving expectations of consumers, who are looking for more than just surface-level commitments that can come across performative.”
