Industrial automation and controls company Schneider Electric has been in Canada since 1836, the same year its parent company was founded in France. Looking after their employees is part of the company’s longevity and success: their longest-serving employee has been with them for 54 years.

The company has various programs to help support employees’ mental and physical wellness and career development. Instead of simply encouraging working from home, for example, the company created a program to ship furniture (think: ergonomic chairs and sit-stand desks) to employees to set up home offices.

Since its founding in 1880, Calgary-based Imperial Oil has become Canada’s second-biggest integrated oil company — and it has consistently been one of the country’s best companies to work for.

Imperial Oil offers a generous health benefits package which extends to retirees. The employee discount on fuel is an attractive perk, too. Another future-minded initiative? Imperial Oil runs an internal competition that encourages employees to come up with innovative ideas, recognizing their contribution to the company’s success.

Based in Cambridge, On., the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. / TMMC has been in Canada since 1986. TMMC offers some of the best perks in Canada, including discounts on new cars for employees and their family members.

Their family-friendly benefits include generous top-ups for maternity leave, as well leave top-ups for new dads and adoptive parents. Children of employees also have access to academic scholarships.

Adapting to working from home has been a challenge for everyone, but the Bank of Canada, founded in 1935, did so with flying colours. The Bank of Canada provided extra training for employees in leadership positions to manage virtual teams and understand mental-health issues, and they increased the number of paid personal days for employees.

When it comes to family, in addition to generous leave top-ups for new parents – including adoptive parents – they also give employees the option to phase in their return to work. Additionally, the Bank of Canada offers a compassionate leave top-up for employees having to take care of loved ones.

One of the younger companies among Canada’s best employers – they were established in Canada only in 2004 – Shopify has committed to ensuring that most of their employees will be able to work remotely.

In addition to their basic health benefits plan, Shopify employees get $5,000 that they can use towards their health plan, retirement fund or charitable giving, deciding how much to allocate to each. New employees also receive restricted stock units, which is extra attractive considering Shopify is one of the best Canadian stocks to buy and hold right now.

Founded in 1827, before Canada even became Canada, the University of Toronto is the top university in the country and also one of the top places to work. In addition to generous paid leave and parental leave top-ups, parents have access to all kinds of resources through the Family Care Office. The university also offers on-campus child care options.

It’s a great place for older folk to work at too: the average age of employees is 47.1 years and the longest-serving employee has been with the university for nearly 65 years. Health benefits for employees extend to retired employees, too.

Communications company Bell Canada has been around almost as long as the telephone itself: since 1880.

The company’s commitment to diversity extends to their hiring practices — and to their mental-health support. For example, they have a fund specifically to support the mental health and well-being of BIPOC communities. Speaking of mental health, Bell provides up to $3,000 per year in mental-health practitioner benefits for employees. There’s a $15,000 IVF subsidy for aspiring parents, as well as generous maternity and parental leave top-ups and on-site child care.

CIBC was founded in 1961 when two banks dating from 1867 and 1873, respectively, decided to merge.

In pandemic times, the bank has given employees as many as 10 additional paid personal days to deal with unexpected issues like school closures. CIBC also offers a compassionate leave top-up for employees who need to take care of loved ones. Employees have access to a wide range of discounts, including discounts on banking fees and services and low-interest home loans.

Working from home isn’t going anywhere, and Citi Canada acknowledges that this means unexpected costs for employees. Citi Canada offers employees a monthly stipend of $100 to help cover Wifi costs, in addition to reimbursement for other expenses impacted by the pandemic.

Citi Canada helps new parents with maternity and parental leave top-ups, and they also support employees on their journey to become parents with the help of a per-lifetime IVF subsidy of $24,000 and an adoption assistance subsidy of up to $30,000 per child.

Established in 1982, the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is a charitable organization that raises money to fund the work of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto.

In addition to in-house and online training, employees may also benefit from tuition subsidies and subsidies for professional accreditation.

To support work-from-home arrangements, the organization helped employees with subsidies to set up their home offices and refined their flexible work polices.