Is Mountain Equipment Company (formerly MEC) Canadian?
Partly
Ownership is split or partially foreign — read the details.
What we found
The Vancouver-based outdoor gear retailer, formerly the member-owned co-op Mountain Equipment Co-op, was sold out of CCAA insolvency proceedings to U.S. private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management in 2020, ending it.
The receipt
| Verdict | Borderline |
| Category | Gaming, Toys & Sporting Goods |
| HQ | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Confidence | high |
| Evidence | Secondary source only |
| Source | https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2020/11/mec-acquired-by-… secondary source — registry check pending “The Globe and Mail reports that Mountain Equipment Co. is to be acquired by Canadian textile executive Tim Gu, indicating Canadian ownership.” Verdicts are only marked verified once a government registry record or corporate filing confirms them. |
Canadian alternatives to Mountain Equipment Company (formerly MEC)
Every brand below is listed as Canadian-owned in our registry.
| Brand | Category | HQ Location | Ownership Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquaquest | Sports & Outdoors | Courtenay, British Columbia | View ownership → |
| Atmosphere | Outdoor/camping gear | Toronto, ON | View ownership → |
| Atmosphere (SAIL) | Canadian outdoor/camping gear retailers | Toronto, ON | View ownership → |
| Breathe Outdoors | Sports & Outdoors | Unconfirmed, Canada | View ownership → |
| Bushtukah | Outdoor/camping gear | Ottawa, ON | View ownership → |
| Durston Gear | Sports & Outdoors | Golden, British Columbia | View ownership → |
Spotted something wrong? Ownership changes all the time — report a correction and we'll re-check the records.