We noticed that existing brand rankings were mostly objective, focusing on metrics like sales, market cap, or global relevance—often overlooking a uniquely Canadian perspective. For instance, Kantar BrandZ ranks brands by financial value, YouGov tracks brand health broadly (including non-Canadian brands), and Brand Finance Canada 100 considers marketing and business performance. But none reflect how Canadians themselves see Canadian brands through the lens of their own values. That’s why we created the GCBI—to fill this gap and highlight how Canadians' perceptions can influence a brand’s success.

The GCBI offers a more meaningful and culturally resonant measure of Canadian brands by capturing how well they align with values that Canadians hold dear—such as honesty, sustainability, and inclusivity—rather than just financial outcomes. Traditional objective metrics like profitability, market share, and brand value reflect business performance, but they don’t reveal whether consumers actually feel connected to a brand or see it as reflecting Canadian identity. The GCBI fills this gap by emphasizing consumer perception through a values-based lens, offering insights into brand authenticity, trust, and emotional resonance—critical factors for long-term brand equity, especially in a socially conscious marketplace.

Academic research in marketing and consumer psychology supports the importance of perception-based measures. Studies consistently show that when consumers perceive a brand as trustworthy, value-aligned, or authentic, they are more likely to express stronger purchase intentions, greater brand loyalty, and even a willingness to pay more. These perception-driven outcomes ultimately enhance a brand’s financial performance over time, suggesting that public sentiment is not only a reputational asset but also a predictor of profitability. In this way, the GCBI provides a forward-looking, people-centered metric that complements—and in many cases, anticipates—traditional business indicators.

The GCBI measures seven core values: friendly, nice, respectful, honest, tolerant, adventurous, and sustainable. These were chosen through extensive literature review and pre-testing to ensure that they reflect both enduring and emerging elements of Canadian identity—how Canadians see themselves and what they expect from others, including institutions and brands.

These values matter because they represent the social and cultural fabric of Canada. Traits like friendliness, niceness, respect, and honesty are part of the stereotypical—but often accurate—perception of Canadians as kind, polite, and fair. Tolerance reflects Canada’s multicultural ethos and commitment to inclusivity, while adventurousness speaks to national pride in exploration, creativity, and resilience. Sustainability captures a growing societal concern with environmental stewardship, a value increasingly tied to national and brand-level identity. Together, these values provide a holistic, citizen-driven lens to evaluate whether Canadian brands genuinely reflect what Canadians care about.

We surveyed 2,135 Canadians aged 18 or older in all ten provinces (there was not enough of a sample from the three territories) in March 2025. The sample was representative of the population based on the 2021 Canadian Census on age, gender, race, and political views. They rated 131 Canadian brands on each of the values of being nice, friendly, honest, respectful, adventurous, tolerant, and sustainable, and these ratings were weighted using Bayesian shrinkage and then averaged to produce overall rankings on the final GCBI list.

Only brands that were deemed “Canadian”. A brand was deemed “Canadian” if it met at least three of these criteria: (1) It has to have been founded in Canada; (2) It has to have or had its headquarters in Canada; (3) It must operate or be available in Québec plus two other provinces; and (4) It must be popularly viewed as being “Canadian”. For example, although Hudson’s Bay Company has American owners, it has headquarters in Toronto (as well as New York City) and was founded in Canada, thus it qualifies for inclusion in our index. Likewise, although Tim Hortons currently has American owners, it was founded in Canada, thus it qualifies for inclusion. However, while French’s uses grown-in-Canada tomatoes for its line of ketchup, the brand was founded in the U.S., is headquartered in Rochester, and thus did not qualify for inclusion on the GCBI.

Yes. If there was not enough familiarity with a brand (in terms of number of raters for the brand), they were not included in the index. This is to ensure the integrity, reliability, and validity of our index.

You may have noticed that, even if a brand qualified for inclusion per our criteria, it may not appear. To suggest the inclusion of a brand on the GCBI in the future, please e-mail the index developers, either Prof. Eugene Chan or Prof. Rishad Habib. Any one can suggest a brand (or brands) for inclusion, including corporate leaders, brand managers, PR consultants, or members of the Canadian public. However, all inclusions of brands will be at the final discretion of the index authors.

Yes, but only if you are the brand manager or hold another senior leadership position for the brand in question. We’re happy to remove your brand name from future iterations—no questions asked. Please contact either Prof. Eugene Chan or Prof. Rishad Habib.

We’re happy to consult with you individually on your brand’s performance on the GCBI. Please contact either Prof. Eugene Chan or Prof. Rishad Habib to set-up an initial consultation and discuss the availability of customized reports for your brand or particular industry. The full GCBI index will help you assess where your brand ranks across the seven values measured and how your brand is perceived across different demographic groups. However, we are able to provide deeper insights both quantitative and qualitative regarding your brand through our customized reports consultation services.

We would be happy to speak with you regarding more information about the GCBI, or if you’re looking for expert commentary and analysis on what makes a brand “Canadian”. Please e-mail Prof. Eugene Chan.