🎨 Sector Spotlight: Paint

Canada has been making paint for well over a century.

The earliest domestic paint producers emerged in the late 1800s, often as regional operations serving local builders and railway companies. These weren’t just decorative coatings—they were essential for protecting wooden infrastructure from Canada’s unforgiving climate. By the mid-20th century, paint manufacturing had matured into a robust industrial sector, with facilities in nearly every province, serving both the consumer and commercial markets.

Several brands with deep Canadian roots—like Sico (founded in Quebec in 1937), CIL (established in 1908), and General Paint (founded in Vancouver in 1911)—once stood as national players. Many of these have since been absorbed by global conglomerates, but a few independent manufacturers, like Cloverdale Paint (established in 1933), have not only survived, but grown.

Today, Canada’s paint sector is a patchwork: a few major foreign-owned brands with significant local operations, and a resilient collection of Canadian-owned companies, many of them based in Quebec and Western Canada. Unlike other manufacturing categories that have all but disappeared, paint remains a sector where Canadian ownership and production still hold meaningful ground.

Below we highlight some of the high, medium and low scorers within this sector – as usual, complete sector information can be found by searching for ‘Paint and Primer’ on The CANADA List’s website.

✅ High Scorers: Canadian-Owned, Canadian-Made

• Cloverdale Paint – Founded in 1933 in BC’s Lower Mainland, Cloverdale is one of the rare Canadian manufacturers that not only survived globalization but expanded during it. Still family-owned, it operates seven Canadian plants, including major facilities in Surrey (BC), Calgary (AB), Winnipeg (MB), and several across Ontario. It supplies everything from architectural paint to industrial coatings, and it maintains a robust in-house R&D division. It’s especially dominant in Western Canada, where contractors and professionals swear by its durability in variable climates.
• Beauti-Tone – Owned by Home Hardware, Beauti-Tone is more than a house brand—it’s a strategic commitment to Canadian production. Manufactured in Burford, Ontario, it’s distributed nationwide through five Canadian logistics hubs. Home Hardware stores are independently owned, which means Beauti-Tone supports Canadian jobs at every level, from factory to franchise.
• Premier (Canadian Tire) – Unlike many house brands that rely on anonymous foreign manufacturers, Premier is proudly made in Canada by UCP Paints, a vertically integrated Quebec company. While it wears Canadian Tire branding, it’s a genuine Canadian product—manufactured, packaged, and distributed domestically.
• Quebec brands – Quebec remains a true stronghold when it comes to paint manufacturers in Canada. Not only does UCP (who supplies Canadian Tire) reside in Baie-D’Urfé, but MF Paint (Laval), Denalt (Montreal) and Splendi (Shawinigan) all continue as major paint manufacturers in the province.

🟨 Medium Scorers: Made Here, Owned Elsewhere

• Dulux and Sico – Once proudly Canadian, both brands are now owned by American Industrial Partners (AIP). But unlike many acquired brands, they’ve retained their Canadian manufacturing roots. Paint for the Canadian market is still made in Vaughan, ON and Delta, BC. If you’re buying Sico or Dulux in Canada, chances are it was made here—even if the profits cross the border.
• Benjamin Moore – A U.S. company under Berkshire Hathaway, Benjamin Moore nevertheless maintains major Canadian operations, including a large latex paint plant in Montreal. Most of what’s sold in Canada is made in Canada—and its store network is entirely made up of independently owned Canadian retailers. In practice, this brand supports far more Canadian jobs than its ownership structure might suggest.

🔻 Low Scorers: Imported, Consolidated, and Centralized

• Sherwin-Williams – One of the world’s most dominant paint companies, Sherwin-Williams has consolidated much of its production in the U.S. While it operates a blending and tinting facility in Fort Erie, ON, the bulk of its consumer-facing paint is imported. Its acquisition of General Paint led to the closure of Canadian manufacturing facilities, reducing its domestic footprint.
• Behr – Sold exclusively at Home Depot, Behr is a U.S. brand owned by Masco Corp. It has some distribution and R&D presence in Canada, but manufacturing is almost entirely American. Like many imported goods, it benefits from economies of scale—but contributes relatively little to Canadian industry.
• Rust-Oleum, Kilz, Farrow & Ball, Ronseal, Valspar, Dutch Boy – These niche or designer brands may have cult followings, but they’re all foreign-owned and foreign-made. Some have boutique showrooms or distributor deals in Canada, but they bring almost no economic value beyond retail margins.

Paint doesn’t get the same attention that sectors like dairy or telecom receive in Canada. But it remains an important multi-billion dollar sector in Canada’s industrial landscape. Manufacturing plants provide stable, high-paying jobs, contribute to local economies, and support adjacent industries from packaging to distribution.

So the next time that you’re thinking of buying that trendy imported shade of “Sage Fog,” perhaps consider whether you can get an identical hue from a good Canadian brand, made by your neighbours, supporting your region. Because while some sectors of Canada’s industrial complex have been pretty hollowed out, Canada still makes paint (and pretty damn good paint, too).

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