The Canada Life Assurance Company, commonly known as Canada Life, is an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

and

financial services Financial services are the economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companies, ...

company with its headquarters in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. The current company is the result of the 2020 amalgamation of The Great-West Life Assurance Company, London Life Insurance Company and The Canada Life Assurance Company, along with their holding companies (London Insurance Group Inc. and Canada Life Financial Corporation). The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco.

History and ownership

Great-West Life Assurance Company

The Great-West Life Assurance Company (French: ''La Great-West, Compagnie d'Assurance-vie'') provided life, disability, and health insurance; benefit and retirement plans; and investment advice. It was active in both the United States and Canada. Great-West Life was founded in Winnipeg in 1891 by

Jeffry Hall Brock Jeffry Hall Brock (1850–1915) was a Canadian businessman who was also politically active at the time of John A. Macdonald. He had a significant influence on the Canadian insurance industry (Great-West Life turned out be the second biggest insu ...

, a local insurance agent. The company was incorporated on August 28, 1891, with local residents such as James Ashdown on its board. In 1942, it was the first Canadian company "to enter the accident and health insurance business." In 1960, the company moved to Osborne Street, where it had constructed a new building on the site of the old Osborne Stadium. In 1983, the company expanded into a building on the corner of Broadway and Osborne. In 1979, US and Canadian operations were separated due mostly to rapid US growth. In 1969, Great-West was purchased by the Power Corporation, which made it into a wholly owned subsidiary. In 1982, Great-West began offering a universal life policy which differed from those offered by competitors. Two years later, in 1984, the Power Financial Corporation was created as a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

for Great-West and its numerous businesses. Great-West Life Realty (GWL Realty) is the Toronto-based property and asset management arm of Great-West Life, established in 1993.

London Life Insurance Company

The London Life Insurance Company (or London Life) merged with Great-West Life in 1997, then joined the original Canada Life in 2003. London Life was a part of Great-West Lifeco subsidiary, Great-West Life Assurance Company. London Life was founded in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, in 1874, and remains headquartered there. In 2009, London Life ranked 14th among Canada's largest private companies. It is best known for its "Freedom 55" slogan, which evokes saving money to an extent that would allow one to retire at age 55. The company reportedly had assets under management of $40 billion (Canadian funds) as at December 31, 2004, and 1.9 million participating life insurance policies. London Life merged with its sister companies, Great-West Life Assurance Company and Canada Life Financial, under the new brand and the banner of Canada Life.

Canada Life Financial Corporation

Hugh Cossart Baker Sr. established the Canada Life Assurance Company (CLAC), the first life insurance company in Canada, on 21 August 1847. The firm was incorporated in 1849. The company was acquired by Great-West Life Assurance Company in 2003, after rejecting a hostile takeover bid by rival

Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation (also known as Financière Manuvie in Quebec) is a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company operates in Canada and Asia as "Manulif ...

. Canada Life Financial had offices in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

; in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

;

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

;

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

; the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

; and on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. The first CLAC head office was in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

on the top floor of the Mechanics' Institute on James Street near Merrick, where the Hamilton City Centre (formerly the Eaton's Centre) now stands. The head office moved in 1883 to King Street East and Hughson Street South (later known as the Birks Building). The company commissioned the building of the

Canada Life Building The Canada Life Building is a historic office building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fifteen-floor Beaux Arts building was built by Sproatt & Rolph and stands at , including its weather beacon. It is located at University and Queen Stree ...

, which was completed in 1895, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The headquarters of CLAC was moved to Toronto in 1900 by newly installed company president George Cox. From 1926 to 1929, the company was headquartered at historic

Cawthra House Cawthra House is the name for two homes owned by the Cawthra family. William Cawthra House The first was a mansion completed in 1853 for businessman William Cawthra by Joseph Sheard and William Irving. It is a now site of the Scotia Plaza offi ...

in Toronto. Several acquisitions were made and sister companies founded through the years, including: ;Crown Life Insurance Company of Canada Crown Life was founded in 1900 and was based in Toronto. It was acquired by CLAC in 1998. ;Canada Life, UK Canada Life began operations in the United Kingdom in 1903.

Parent companies

Great-West Lifeco is a

joint-stock A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

corporation traded on the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...

and owns 100% of The Great-West Life Assurance Company. Power Financial Corporation (PFC) is the majority stake-holder and owns 72% of Great-West Lifeco, the only one of those finance companies to be a member of the stock exchange composite index. Other operating companies include Irish Life, Great-West Financial, and Putnam Investments. In 2003, Great-West Lifeco acquired Canada Life Financial, which later emerged, along with Great-West Life Assurance Company, for US$4.7 billion. Great-West Life sold its health insurance US division to

Cigna Cigna is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and se ...

for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1.5 billion in a deal announced on November 26, 2007. Great-West was seeking to expand into the western United States.

Merger and consolidation

In 2019, Great-West Lifeco consolidated its three brands in Canada as "Canada Life". In April 2019, Great-West Life merged with its sister companies London Life and

Canada Life The Canada Life Assurance Company, commonly known as Canada Life, is an insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The current company is the result of the 2020 amalgamation of The Great-West Life Assura ...

into the single brand of Canada Life. The rebrand took place in 2020, with Canada Life having 10,500 employees. The Canada Life amalgamation received approval from the Canadian government in November 2019. They officially begin operating as The Canada Life Assurance Company on January 1, 2020. Canada Life is based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

at the historic

on University Avenue. Employees of the merged companies work from five regional offices in Winnipeg, London, Toronto, Montreal and Regina. Paul A. Mahon is president. Canada Life is on the Canada's Top 100 Employers and Top 100 Employers for Young people lists.

Philanthropy

On May 28, 2017, sister companies Canada Life, London Life and Great-West Life contributed $25,000 to

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()Investors Group Power Corporation of Canada () is a management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment management, including a portfo ...

and the

Power Corporation of Canada Power Corporation of Canada () is a management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment management, including a portfol ...

, announced a commitment of $12 million to the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.James W. Burns, former president and chief executive officer at Great-West Life. In April 2019, the

Manitoba Museum The Manitoba Museum, previously the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, is a human and natural history museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as the province's largest, not-for-profit centre for heritage and science education. Located close to City ...

announced a donation of $750,000.00 to their capital campaign, "Bringing Our Stories Forward", by Canada Life. The donation was made in honour of Burns. Canada Life donated 470 tickets for the "A Conversation with Michelle Obama" event to the

Winnipeg School Division The Winnipeg School Division is a school division in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With 78 schools, it is the largest of six public school divisions in Winnipeg, as well as the largest and oldest school division in Manitoba. Its schools collectively te ...

. The company has been a long-term sponsor of "Future Leaders of Manitoba" awards. Notable recipients of the award have included indigenous Peoples activist Michael Redhead Champagne, Canadian politician

Kevin Chief Kevin Chief is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2011 election. He represented the electoral district of Point Douglas from 2011 to 2017 as a member of the New Democratic Party caucus. In 20 ...

, Canadian film director Adam Smoluk, community leader Hannah Pratt, surgeon and university associate professor Dr. Jordan Hochman, president of Manitoba SwimAbility, Cameron Krisko, and young philanthropist Ben Sabic.

Legal proceedings

Canada Life–UK claimed its former employee, Domenico Iacono, had illegally removed confidential information after he quit the job. The insurance group brought legal proceedings against Iacono before the High Court. Canada Life Financial was sued by Vanessa Valentyne after refusing to pay out her missing son's insurance policy. The policy he took out had an exclusionary clause, according to which the company will not pay on a policy if death is a result of its holder's criminal activity. Valentyne's son was a drug dealer for six years before his January 7, 2013 disappearance from a drug dealing house.

References

External links

Official website of Canada Life

Official website of Great-West Lifeco Inc.

Official website of Great-West Life

Official website of Power Corporation of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great-West Life Assurance Company Insurance companies of Canada Financial services companies based in Manitoba Companies based in Winnipeg Power Corporation of Canada Financial services companies established in 1847 Financial services companies established in 1874 Financial services companies established in 1891 Health insurance companies of Canada