Already in the 1930s, it used the brand name Maple Leaf along with Klik and Kam for its pork products, its main business, with its massive operations for processing hogs for exporting to the United Kingdom helped Toronto earn its nickname "Hogtown".

In 1944, it also entered the tanning industry with the acquisition of Beardmore & Co.[4] Canada Packers diversified into other food products including ice cream, cheese, and canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, by 1950 marketed under the York brand.

During restructuring efforts led by David Newton as CEO and Lewis Rose as CFO, it sold or closed most of its slaughterhouses.

As the result of a series of divestitures culminating with the 2014 sale of the bakery division (Canada Bread Company),[10] Maple Leaf today now only produces and sells fresh and packaged meats, as well as plant-based protein products via its acquisition of Lightlife and Field Roast.

The closures were necessary because the relevant plants were "50 to 60 years old and severely growth constrained because of location, footprint or infrastructure and nearing the end of their productive capacity", according to then-CEO Michael McCain.

[11] In January 2020, CEO Michael McCain garnered media attention for criticizing "a narcissist in Washington"[12] regarding events preceding Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 being shot down by Iran, in a series of tweets from the company Twitter account.

[13] McCain, who has been noted by media as "a role model for crisis management",[14] was lauded by some, for his "humanity",[15] and criticized by others, for supplanting shareholder primacy, as reactive calls for a boycott of the company impacted stock prices.

[12] In February 2021, the company admitted in a management report that it was target of an "ongoing investigation by the Competition Bureau into the Canadian bread industry, including alleged price fixing and related securities disclosure issues."

[17] In May 2022, Michael McCain announced that he would become executive chairman and hand over CEO responsibilities to Curtis Frank by the 2023 annual meeting.

Originally established in Saskatoon in 1940 by Fred Mendel as Intercontinental Packers, the business concentrated on canned meat products sold into the US and bacon for Britain during the war years.

Maple Leaf was already marketing meatless products such as burgers and sausages under its LightLife brand, designed to closely resemble meat in appearance and flavour.

[22] According to the National Post, the recall took place on 24 August 2008 and included all cured meats manufactured from a contaminated Toronto plant.

[23] The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a public warning against consuming several Maple Leaf products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

[29] Brands affected were Hygrade, Shopsy's and Maple Leaf at its plant in Hamilton, Ontario, due to the possibility that they may have contained traces of Listeria monocytogenes.

[citation needed] In recent years, Maple Leaf has diversified from its traditional bagel market into new areas of speciality bakery business.

[31] In February 2014, Canada Bread, in which Maple Leaf Foods previously had a 90% stake, was acquired by the multinational Grupo Bimbo for CAD$1.83 billion.