Canada's Most Trustworthy Brands In 2022 Were Revealed & The Top 10 Might Surprise You

A new ranking of Canada's most trusted brands in 2022 has found that Canadians are loving stores like Costco and Shoppers, but have less confidence in Canuck airlines and packaged food brands.

On Monday, May 2, the annual Gustavson Brand Trust Index was shared for the year 2022.

The report investigates consumer trust in around 400 national brands, assessing how much confidence Canadians have in companies that are household names.

To create the ranking, the research considers Canadian consumers' perceptions of a brand's overall trustworthiness, authenticity, values and social responsibility, among other things.

This year, the research found that companies like Costco, Lego, Home Hardware, Dyson, Shoppers Drug Mart and President's Choice remain among the top most trustworthy brands for the Canadian public.

Taking the top spot for the third consecutive year is the Canadian Automobile Association, followed by Band-Aid in second place.

Also in the top 10 are Bose, President's Choice, Dyson, Interac and Mountain Equipment Company (MEC).

While major packaged food brands, like Kellogg’s, President's Choice and Quaker Oats, were high up on the 2021 list, two of the three have dropped massively this year.

Quaker Oats dropped from 7th place to 43rd place, while Kellogg's trust score plummeted to 271st place from 19th.

Similarly, the report found that trust in Canadian airlines is falling, with companies like WestJet and Air Canada failing to earn the full faith of Canuck consumers over the past few years.

Iconic Canadian businesses like Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, Maclean's and McCain Foods failed to make the top 10, although the coffee chain was able to gain recognition for its local community support.

When it comes to brands' treatment of their employees, companies like Costco, Canada Post, IKEA, Home Hardware and VIA Rail were praised, among others.

On the flip side, KFC, Taco Bell, Walmart, DoorDash, Uber and Amazon were the "worst performers."

Overall, the report concluded that Canadians have an "acute awareness" of how a brand connects with consumers and employees, and they're prepared to "vote with their wallets if they feel that a brand's values do not align with their own."