Private company

OMERS

Logo: Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Canadian pension fund

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) is a Canadian public pension fund, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. OMERS is a defined benefit, jointly sponsored, multi-employer public pension plan created on April 18, 1962 by Ontario provincial statute to administer retirement benefits and manage pension investment funds of local government employees in the Canadian province of Ontario.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1962Founded1

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The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) is a Canadian public pension fund, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. OMERS is a defined benefit, jointly sponsored, multi-employer public pension plan created on April 18, 1962 by Ontario provincial statute to administer retirement benefits and manage pension investment funds of local government employees in the Canadian province of Ontario. OMERS members are union or non-union employed by municipalities, school boards, transit systems, local electrical distribution companies, police service boards, fire fighting and paramedic services, children's aid societies and associated local agencies, boards and commissions.2

Corporate structure

OMERS sits at the top of its group. 9 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What OMERS reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

Products and brands

In March 2017, OMERS acquired a stake in Kemble, the UK holding company of Thames Water. The deeply-indebted water business became embroiled in a financial crisis from 2023, and in May 2024, OMERS, then Thames' biggest shareholder, issued a "full write-down" of its 31.7% stake in Kemble, signaling the shares were now worth nothing.

In November 2023, OMERS announced the acquisition of a 5% indirect stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the parent company of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, for $400 million. The stake was purchased through a 20% direct investment in Kilmer Sports Inc (KSI), which is owned by MLSE Chairman Larry Tanenbaum. After the transaction, Tanenbaum will continue as chairman, holding an 80% stake in KSI, while OMERS will function purely as a financial investor without involvement in the operational decisions of MLSE or its teams.

As of 2023, 25% of OMERS' investments are in Canada. Its largest investment is in Bruce Power.

The retail real estate portfolio includes Kingsway Mall and Southcentre Mall in Alberta; Hillcrest Mall, Scarborough Town Centre, Square One Shopping Centre, Upper Canada Mall, and Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Ontario. OMERS has over 6,000 residential rental units in Vancouver, the Greater Toronto Area, and Montreal; 15 million square feet of office space in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary; and, is invested in hotels across Canada.

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In July 2024, Bloomberg News reported some Canadian pension funds were moving away from commercial real estate following recent challenges. Although OMERS was one of the funds that reported a loss in this portfolio, the CEO of OMERS, Blake Hutcheson, announced they would continue with their strategy.

OMERS began investing in electric vehicle battery developer and manufacturer, Northvolt, in 2021. A loss on its almost $450 million investment after Northvolt's bankruptcy, was reported by the Globe and Mail in November 2024.

From Wikipedia’s article on OMERS, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

  • Borealis International Investments Corporation
  • LifeLabs
  • OMERS Dutch Coöperatief

Also owns

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1962Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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