Léger
Canadian family-owned market research, polling, analytics, and consulting company.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Léger is a Canadian family-owned market research and analytics company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. The firm was founded in 1986 by Marcel Léger, a former Quebec environment minister, and his son Jean-Marc Léger, an economist. It initially operated as Léger & Léger and later became known as Léger Marketing before adopting the shorter Léger name as its services expanded beyond conventional marketing research. The company provides research and advisory services for businesses, public-sector organizations, and other institutions. Its work includes public opinion polling, customer and employee experience measurement, brand and reputation studies, market segmentation, healthcare and pharmaceutical research, consumer research, digital intelligence, advanced analytics, and strategic consulting. The business combines quantitative surveys, online panels, qualitative research, behavioral and interactive marketing analysis, and data interpretation. Léger developed a national online research capability through its Léger Web division, which conducted some of Canada's earliest online surveys in 2005. Its online panel was later rebranded LEO, short for Léger Opinion. The panel became a major Canadian source of respondents for opinion, consumer, healthcare, and public-affairs research. The company also expanded its technological and analytical capabilities through investments in customer-experience measurement, interactive marketing intelligence, cloud-based tools, and the Léger Analytiques division. Growth has been driven substantially by acquisitions. Léger acquired Criterion Research Corporation in Toronto in 2000, followed by western Canadian research firms including Criterion in Edmonton and Claros Research in Calgary. It entered the United States in 2007 by acquiring ARC Research, a Philadelphia-based firm. Later transactions added pharmaceutical expertise, customer-experience technology, digital performance and content capabilities, and stronger coverage in western Canada. Acquisitions and partnerships involving Agility Metrics, Researchology, Ifop North America, imarklab, National Research Group, SmartPoint Research, Ressac, and Insights West broadened the company's service portfolio and geographic reach. Jean-Marc Léger remains the company's central leader. In 2010 he became founding president of WIN, an international association of independent polling and research firms. During the same period, Léger repositioned itself as a broader research, strategy, and consulting organization rather than a traditional polling supplier. The company has offices in Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Tarrytown, New York, and has been described as employing more than 600 people. Léger remains privately held and active in the Canadian and North American research-services market.
History
Léger was established in 1986 by Marcel Léger and his son Jean-Marc Léger. Marcel Léger brought political and public-sector experience, having served as Quebec's environment minister, while Jean-Marc Léger contributed an economics and polling background. The company initially used the name Léger & Léger and developed as a family-owned Canadian research business. During the 1990s, the firm sharpened its focus on marketing research. In 1995 it repositioned itself in that field, and in 1996 it adopted the name Léger Marketing. The company then pursued a national expansion strategy. Its 2000 acquisition of Criterion Research Corporation in Toronto provided a stronger presence outside Quebec. Further acquisitions of Criterion's Edmonton operation in 2005 and Claros Research in Calgary in 2006 extended its reach into western Canada. Technology became an increasingly important part of the business. In 2005, Léger conducted what it described as Canada's first online surveys through its Léger Web division. This online capability eventually became LEO, or Léger Opinion, a large Canadian online panel used for public-opinion, consumer, and specialized research. In 2007, the company entered the United States by acquiring ARC Research, a Philadelphia-based firm. Jean-Marc Léger became founding president of WIN in 2010, linking the company to a worldwide network of independent polling and research organizations. Around the same time, Léger broadened its identity from a marketing-research provider to a research, strategy, and consulting company. The expanded offer included strategic advice and advanced statistical analysis, supported by a series of acquisitions and technology investments. In 2012, Léger became a majority shareholder in Agility Metrics, a Montreal company built around cloud software for measuring customer experience. The business later became Léger Metrics. Léger also acquired Researchology, a Toronto firm specializing in pharmaceutical research. In 2013 it acquired Ifop North America, adding further experience in pharmaceutical and consumer-goods research. In 2014, Léger took a minority position in and formed a strategic partnership with imarklab, a Canadian interactive-marketing intelligence company. The relationship combined traditional research with digital-channel analysis and neuroscience-related approaches to customer behavior. The company continued to develop specialist capabilities. Léger Analytiques was launched in 2018. In 2019, Léger acquired National Research Group, a Vancouver-based firm with offices and activity across western Canada. The same year, Léger Web was renamed LEO and was described as having more than 400,000 panelists. In 2020, Léger acquired SmartPoint Research, a Toronto firm serving consumer and healthcare markets, strengthening its patient and healthcare-professional panels as well as its healthcare offering. Léger's acquisition program continued in 2021. In October it acquired Ressac, a Montreal digital performance agency focused on media strategy and branded-content activation. In November it acquired Insights West, a Vancouver-based research and analytics company. These transactions broadened Léger beyond polling and survey research into digital performance, media, healthcare, customer experience, analytics, and strategic consulting. Léger is headquartered in Montreal and has offices in Toronto, Quebec City, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Tarrytown, New York. It has been described as having more than 600 employees and as having completed twelve acquisitions. Jean-Marc Léger remains the company's sole leader, while ownership remains associated with the Léger family. The company continues to operate as a private research and professional-services business in Canada and the United States.
- 2021
Completed acquisitions of Ressac and Insights West
[1]The two acquisitions added digital performance, branded content, western Canadian research, and analytics capabilities.
- 2019
Created the LEO identity
[1]Léger Web became LEO, or Léger Opinion, the company's branded Canadian online research panel.
- 2018
Launched Léger Analytiques
[1]The division added a formal organizational focus on advanced analytics.
- 2010
Expanded into strategy and consulting
[1]The firm broadened its identity and services to include strategic consulting and advanced statistical analysis.
- 2007
Entered the United States
[1]Léger expanded into the American market through the acquisition of ARC Research.
- 2005
Introduced online surveying in Canada
[1]Léger Web conducted the company's early online surveys, establishing the basis for its later LEO panel.
- 2000
Acquired Criterion Research Corporation
[1]The Toronto acquisition supported Léger's expansion across Canada.
- 1996
Adopted the Léger Marketing name
[1]The company changed its operating name from Léger & Léger to Léger Marketing.
- 1995
Repositioned around marketing research
[1]The company repositioned its business toward marketing research.
- 1986
Company founded
[1]Marcel Léger and Jean-Marc Léger founded the family-owned research company that initially operated as Léger & Léger.
Products and positioning
A Canadian, family-owned research and consulting firm combining polling, online-panel research, analytics, customer-experience measurement, and strategic advice. Its positioning emphasizes local Canadian market expertise, broad national coverage, and an increasingly integrated set of research and digital capabilities.
Online research panel · 2019
LEO (Léger Opinion)
LEO is Léger's branded online respondent panel, developed from the former Léger Web operation. It supports public-opinion polling, consumer studies, market research, and specialized healthcare research. The company described the panel as having more than 400,000 Canadian panelists in 2019, making it a central infrastructure for the firm's online research activities.
Polling and survey research
Public opinion polling
Léger conducts polling and survey research on public attitudes, political opinions, social issues, consumer sentiment, and institutional reputation. These services draw on telephone, online, and other research approaches and are part of the company's long-standing identity as a Canadian polling organization.
Customer intelligence · 2012
Customer experience measurement
The customer-experience offering measures satisfaction, interactions, loyalty, and perceptions across customer touchpoints. Léger's investment in Agility Metrics, later known as Léger Metrics, added cloud-based technology for measuring and managing customer experience.
Advanced analytics · 2018
Léger Analytiques
Léger Analytiques is the company's analytics-focused division. It reflects the firm's move beyond fieldwork and descriptive polling into advanced statistical analysis, data interpretation, segmentation, modeling, and decision support.
Healthcare market research
Healthcare and pharmaceutical research
Léger provides research for pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations, including work involving consumers, patients, healthcare professionals, and market stakeholders. The capability was strengthened through the acquisitions of Researchology, Ifop North America, and SmartPoint Research.
Brand decisions
2021
Expanded through Ressac and Insights West acquisitionsM&ABackground
Léger was broadening its services into digital performance, media strategy, branded content, and western Canadian analytics.
Action taken
The company acquired Montreal digital agency Ressac in October and Vancouver-based Insights West in November.
Aftermath
The transactions added digital activation capabilities and strengthened Léger's western Canadian research and analytics presence.
2019
Rebranded Léger Web as LEOProduct launchBackground
Léger's online survey operation had become a major part of its respondent and research infrastructure.
Action taken
The company renamed Léger Web as LEO, short for Léger Opinion.
Aftermath
LEO became the branded identity for Léger's large Canadian online panel.
2012
Invested in Agility Metrics and acquired ResearchologyM&ABackground
Léger sought stronger technology and specialized pharmaceutical research capabilities.
Action taken
It became the majority shareholder of Agility Metrics and acquired Toronto-based Researchology.
Aftermath
Agility Metrics later became Léger Metrics, while Researchology expanded Léger's healthcare and pharmaceutical research expertise.
2010
Repositioned as a research, strategy, and consulting firmStrategyBackground
Léger had expanded through acquisitions and technology investments and sought to move beyond a narrower marketing-research identity.
Action taken
The company broadened its offer to include strategic consulting and advanced statistical analysis alongside research and polling.
Aftermath
The repositioning created the basis for later growth in analytics, customer experience, healthcare research, and digital services.
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