Recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2022) and Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2022):
Mediacorp Canada Inc. staff editors (Nov 11, 2021)
Here are some of the reasons why The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation was selected as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (2022) and Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2022):
- The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation moved all employees to work-from-home arrangements at the onset of the pandemic and ensured employees had the necessary tech to set up comfortable home offices, including subsidies for home office equipment purchases such as chairs, screens and printers -- and refined its flexible work policies to allow employees to flex their workday start and finish times, offered additional paid time off, hosted light meeting days and enhanced support for health and wellness through their health benefits program
- The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation supports its new moms with maternity and parental leave top-up payments, to 85 per cent of salary for 25 weeks and extends parental leave top-up to new dads and adoptive parents, to 85 per cent of salary for 10 weeks -- and offers a $5,000 subsidy for parents who are adopting a child
- The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation starts its new employees with three weeks of paid vacation, moving to four weeks after just three years of employment -- senior personnel start with four weeks of paid vacation

Staff members at the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation attend a fundraising event
Employer Background
Industry | Charitable foundations |
Established in Canada | 1982 |
Major Canadian hiring locations | Toronto ON |
Full-time employees in Canada | 120 |
Part-time employees in Canada | 2 |
Workforce engaged on a contract basis | 24% |
Average age of employees in Canada | 39 years |
Longest serving employee | 23 years |
COVID-19
Pandemic response | enhanced safety, mitigation and cleaning protocols, employees working from home were offered subsidies for home office equipment purchases (for high-end desk chairs, screens and printers), offered additional paid time off, light meeting days, additional resources to support health and wellness and redefined flexible hours, allowing employees to work through hours of the day that best suited their new work-from-home arrangements |
Physical Workplace Rating: A
Editorial note | due to the pandemic, some workplace amenities may be temporarily unavailable |
Commuter amenities | transit subsidies, online carpool sign-up, subsidized parking, electric vehicle charging stations, secure/sheltered bicycle parking, nearby bike sharing station, corporate ride-sharing account |
Workplace features | telecommuter workstations, sit-stand workstations, private phone booth, nap room, religious observance room, discounts at local restaurants |
Employee lounge amenities | comfortable seating, television |
Onsite fitness facility | for employees only, free membership, subsidized membership, treadmills, stairmasters, elliptical trainers, rowing machines, weights, shower facilities, kettlebells, undulation ropes, exercise mats, medicine balls, stretch straps |
Work Atmosphere & Communications Rating: B
Employee social committee name | The People Committee (est. 2019) |
Cultural aspects | business-casual dress daily, dress-for-your-day policy, employee sports teams |
Employee communications | intranet site, company newsletter, traditional/email suggestion box |
Financial Benefits & Compensation Rating: A
Outside salary surveys | participates in outside salary surveys every 24 months |
Employee salary reviews | individual salaries are reviewed every 12 months |
Long-term savings | defined-benefit (DB) pension, defined-contribution (DC) pension |
Long-term planning | retirement planning assistance, phased-in retirement work options, life & disability insurance |
Year-end bonuses | corporate discount program (e.g. retail, services, travel, etc.), discounted home insurance, discounted auto insurance |
Health & Family-Friendly Benefits Rating: A
Health plan premium | as part of the health plan, the employer pays up to 100% of the premiums |
Flexible coverage | health plan is flexible with adjustable premiums and coverage levels |
Minimum hours worked for coverage | 20 hours per week |
Waiting period | there is no waiting period for coverage |
Family coverage option | yes |
Dental coverage | routine, restorative |
Paid sick days | employees receive 5 days off each year |
Health plan includes | traditional coverage (e.g. prescription drugs), employee assistance (EAP) plan, semi-private hospital room, physiotherapy, medical travel insurance, homecare, medical equipment and supplies, massage therapy, nutrition planning, podiatrist, osteopathy, chiropractor, alternative coverage (e.g. acupuncture, naturopathy), virtual healthcare services |
Mental health practitioner benefit | up to $200 each year |
Health spending account | up to $1,200 each year |
Additional health and wellness initiatives | formal wellness strategy built around 8 pillars of wellness (including emotional, social, spiritual, financial, intellectual, occupational, environmental, and physical) |
Maternity top-up (mothers) | up to 85% of salary for 15 weeks |
Parental top-up (mothers) | up to 85% of salary for 10 weeks |
Parental top-up (fathers) | up to 85% of salary for 10 weeks |
Adoption top-up | up to 85% of salary for 10 weeks |
Adoption assistance subsidy | up to $5,000 per child |
Additional family-friendly benefits | extended parental leave to unpaid leave, phased-in return to work for new parents, child care onsite |
Flexible work options | flexible work hours, 35-hour work week (with full pay), shortened work week (fewer hours with less pay), compressed work week, telecommuting |
Vacation & Personal Time-Off Rating: A
Vacation allowance | new employees receive 3 weeks of paid vacation after their first year on the job |
Vacation jump | vacation increases after 3 years of employment |
Maximum vacation allowance | employees move to a maximum of 7 weeks of vacation over their career |
Paid summer shutdown | employees receive 5 days off during the summer months |
Paid holiday shutdown | during the Christmas to New Year's holiday break, employees receive an additional 4 days off |
Personal paid days off | employees can schedule 1 personal day off each year, as needed |
Unpaid leave maximum | 12 months |
Self-funded/deferred salary leave maximum | 2 months |
Additional time-off information | senior personnel start at 4 weeks |
Employee Engagement & Performance Rating: A
Employee performance reviews | employees receive individual performance reviews every 6 months |
Managers receive performance review training | yes |
360° feedback option | as part of the review process, performance feedback is also solicited from co-workers and other managers familiar with each employee's work |
Confidential employee feedback | employees can also provide confidential feedback on their manager's performance |
Exit interview | exit interview option is available for departing employees |
Performance recognition | individual performance bonuses, peer-to-peer recognition awards, long-service awards, tailored and unique rewards (e.g. travel), annual and unique holiday party awards include informal, creative, fun and unique categories, including the Duct Tape (for those who can fix anything), the Call of Duty award (for a colleague who will always sign up and help), Biggest Animal Lover (for the employee with the biggest love for animals) and the Cool Cucumber Award (for those who handle pressure "like a boss"), and introduced the Winning from Home Awards to acknowledge the realities that occur while working from home in a humorous manner (including awards such as the You're on Mute award, the Most Fun Background award and the Netflix Navigator award) |
In-house survey period | in-house surveys are conducted every 3 months |
Outside survey period | outside consultant surveys are held every 24 months |
Training & Skills Development Rating: A+
Career planning | in-house career planning services |
In-house training initiatives | in-house training, online training, paid internships, subsidies for professional accreditation |
Tuition subsidies (related to job) | yes |
Tuition subsidies (unrelated to job) | yes |
Community Involvement Rating: A
Scope of charitable involvement | local, national |
Employee charitable involvement | employees are involved in selection of charities |
Community highlight | As its raison d'être, the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation is well known for its annually held events that support cancer research through a number of very popular fundraising initiatives, including the Ride to Conquer Cancer, the Weekend to Conquer Cancer, Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer and Quest to Conquer Cancer. |
Pandemic-related community initiatives | Launched an innovation funding program led by a cross-functional group of employees to develop new fundraising ideas, resulting in 20 potential opportunities for innovation and introducing four innovative digital fundraising ideas. |