Michael McCain
Executive Chair, Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
Michael H. McCain is Executive Chair of Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada’s flagship food companies, with annual sales exceeding $4.5 billion and a vision to be the most sustainable protein company on earth.
He has devoted his entire career to the food industry, beginning at McCain Foods in the late 1970s, where he held a variety of roles, including President and Chief Executive Officer of McCain Foods USA. He joined Maple Leaf Foods in 1995 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1998, a position he held until May 2023.
A practical visionary, Michael has been instrumental in building Maple Leaf Foods into a sustainable, purpose-driven protein company with world-class assets and iconic, market-leading brands. Under his leadership, the company transformed its business, becoming a focused protein company with an impressive growth trajectory grounded in a values-based culture.
Michael is a vocal proponent of stakeholder capitalism and is deeply committed to creating shared value for all stakeholders. He led the establishment of the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security, a charitable organization dedicated to addressing the systemic causes of food insecurity in Canada through action, advocacy, and partnerships. He also championed Maple Leaf Foods’ achievement of becoming the world’s first major carbon-neutral food company in 2019.
In addition to his role as Executive Chair of Maple Leaf Foods, Michael serves as Executive Chair of Canada Packers Inc., and as a Director of McCain Capital Inc. He is also a Director and Honorary Chair of the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security and a Director of the Daymark Foundation. Michael is a member of the Business Council of Canada, and the Board of Trustees for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation.
Born in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Michael holds an Honours Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario. He has received honorary degrees from Western University, St Mary’s University, Brock University, Carleton University and the University of Guelph.
He is devoted to his children, grandchildren and family, and lives in Toronto.