Biggest Lotto Wins in Canada

There are many Canadian lotteries, depending on state and region of the country.These state-bound lotteries, although they do come with significant jackpot amounts, don’t reach the levels of other much bigger lottos.
In the U.S.A, for example, Powerball can easily be worth millions in the jackpot prize alone.

Three main national lotteries in Canada

However, Canada does have three main national lotteries which span all states and regions. Canadians can buy a ticket to become part of these much larger prize pools and have the chance at turning their life around.
These three lotteries are: Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max and the Daily Grand. Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Max in particular lead the country in terms of popularity and the size of their main prizes. On the right picture: Canada Lotto 6-49 player picks own lucky numbers.

Canadian lotteries have been on-going since the last century, and many jackpots have been won over the span of the years. Especially in recent years, when online Canadian lottery has seen a boom in lotto playing around the country. But, there are those great jackpots which stand out from the crowd as being multi-million wins that won’t soon be forgotten.

No.5 - Oct. 26 2005, Lotto ​​6/49 ​- ​​$54.3 million

In 2005, a group of 17 oil and gas workers from Camrose, Alta got together and bought some Lotto 6/49 tickets.
Little did they know that they had bought the winning ticket for $54.3 million in their pack.
That’s about $3 million a piece, which should help pay the bills for a while.

No.4 - July. 17 2015, Lotto Max - $55 million

A group of 20 Rona Hardware employees doing the graveyard shift were just in time to put their names down on the lotto list for the next pool. Next thing they know, they’ve won a total of $55 million and $2.75 each (completely tax free). The Quebec workers could hardly believe their luck.

Claudine Forget recalled when her colleague sent her the message: “Call me — it’s urgent.”
“He told me to sit down,” said Forget, “I told him to stop. I thought something had happened to his family. Then he said we won $55 million.”

No.3 - Sept. 25 2015 - Lotto Max - $60 million

2015 was a big year for Lotto Max. And for group workers who like buying lotto tickets together. 12 Canadian Black Book employees from Markham, Ontario won $5 million each when they hit the jackpot.
The pool was organized by Dennis Cartier, who found out about the win when checking his ticket at a gas station. He promptly went home, signed the ticket and threw it into the refrigerator before checking the numbers again online. The winning ticket was bought from a Petro-Canada gas station on Kennedy Road in Brampton.

No.2 - Apr. 13 2013 - Lotto 6/49 - $63.4 million

This was a particularly interesting case, because there were a total of four winning tickets each with a claim to the jackpot. Three of the tickets were from British Columbia and the other from Western Canada. Still, each ticket-holder ended up with $15.9 million. Not exactly $63.4 million, but enough to turn your world upside-down anyway.

No.1 - Oct. 17 2015 - Lotto 6/49 - $64 million

The record-breaking win of all time is a $64 million jackpot won by one Zhe Wang, from Mississauga.
The only winner from our list who got to keep the entire jackpot to herself, not split it between other winning tickets or a group.
The winning ticket was bought at a Petro-Canada station in Mississauga.
While the draw itself happened on October 17, 2015 – Wang only got the check in March 11, 2016. To date, it is the largest win in Canadian lotto history.