Today Canada is the seventh largest economy. Many companies are owned by private entities, but the government participates in the healthcare system and oversees some services, such as public transport and the utility industry. The Canadian economy is very diverse and quite well developed.

Most of Canada's economy is international trade and export. Currently, the US is Canada's largest trading partner. In Canada, international trade accounts for almost 45% of GDP considering that free trade agreements between Canada and the US have dramatically increased trade by eliminating tariffs. Despite its relatively small population, Canada's economy is currently one of the most prosperous in the world.

All strategic industries of the country are very well developed. Although the agricultural sector is small, it takes advantage of Canada's numerous natural resources, which are scattered across the country. In view of this, Canada is an attractive destination for global businessmen and corporations. Canada's flexible tax legislation leaves room for the use of holding structures: the country is home to several large holding companies.

ATCO group
ATCO group is a one of the biggest Canadian holding companies, having big net turnover and assets. Today this corporation employs almost 7 000 specialists of different professions. Holding’s subsidiary companies are diverse, but most of them are in either the gas / electricity or construction industries.

ATCO was founded in 1947, by S. Don Southern who gave a minority stake to his son Ron Southern, under the name Alberta Trailer Hire, renting fifteen utility trailers in the Calgary area.[3] As the company’s operations grew, they also began to sell trailers, first becoming the Alberta Trailer Company, then ATCO. By the early 1960s, the company had operations across North America and in Australia.

In 2004, with the deregulation of the retail energy industry in Alberta, ATCO sold the retail operations of ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric to Direct Energy Marketing Ltd.; ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric still operate as distributors (owning and operating the infrastructure that delivers natural gas or electricity in its service territories) but are no longer in the retail market. As part of the sale to DEML, DEML contracted call center and billing services from ATCO I-Tek.

DRI Capital
DRI Capital Inc. is a local Toronto-based Canadian healthcare royalty fund manager, a kind of private fund. Holding company’s scope of duties includes purchasing robust and predictable royalty streams from already existing pharmaceutical medicine, thus, providing constant profit to the investors.

The holding was established back in year 1992. During first year of conducting business activity it quickly went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange and acquired a royalty interest in the innovative British biotechnology development company.

Great-West Lifeco
Great-West Lifeco is mostly an insurance oriented Canadian holding company, operating on the territory of North America, Europe and Asia using 5 local subsidiaries around the world. Most of the businesses Great-West Lifeco has indirect control over are part of its largest subsidiary: The Great-West Life Assurance Company; the rest are supervised by the located in the United States subsidiary branch.

Onex Corporation
Onex Corporation is a private owned equity investment company and holding structure located not far from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In year 2016, the company had estimated $22 billion worth of net assets under its management. The company is headquartered in the Brookfield Place, Toronto, with several branches in New York City, New Jersey, and London.

The firm invests in a wide array of industries. Onex Corporation previously has demonstrated a specific interest in acquiring equity shares of the high-cost manufacturing industry companies and subsequently turning them into cheap, low cost suppliers.