The North American Life Assurance Company, commonly known as North American Life, was 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 ...

company headquartered 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 ...

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 1995, it was one of the largest

mutual insurance A mutual insurance company is an insurance company owned entirely by its policyholders. Any profits earned by a mutual insurance company are either retained within the company or rebated to policyholders in the form of dividend distributions or re ...

companies in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

with US$4.48 billion in assets before merging with The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company to form

Manulife Financial 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 "Manulife" an ...

the following year.

History

Nineteenth century

Following the defeat of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

government in the federal election of 1878, the outgoing prime minister Alexander Mackenzie moved from

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. The following year, Mackenzie's friends endeavored to find him employment and decided to sponsor the incorporation of an insurance company. On January 4, 1881, The North American Life Assurance Company was incorporated in Toronto with Mackenzie serving as its first president and

George William Allan George William Allan, , (January 9, 1822 – July 24, 1901), was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 11th Mayor of Toronto and later as Speaker of the Senate of Canada. Life and career Allan attended Upper Canada College an ...

, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, as vice-president. Apart from Allan, virtually all of the company's founding members were Liberal luminaries, among them

Donald Alexander Macdonald Donald Alexander Macdonald (February 17, 1817 – June 10, 1896) was a Canadian politician. Born in 1817 in St. Raphael's, Upper Canada, Donald Alexander Macdonald studied at St Raphael's College under the first Catholic Bishop of Ontar ...

Edward Blake Dominick Edward Blake (October 13, 1833 – March 1, 1912), known as Edward Blake, was the second premier of Ontario, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887. He is one of only three federal permanent Li ...

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

Richard John Cartwright Sir Richard John Cartwright (December 4, 1835 – September 24, 1912) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Cartwright was one of Canada's most distinguished federal politicians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a ...

, and OIiver Mowat. From its inception, the company was national in scope, having agents in all provinces by 1882. Mackenzie served as president until 1892, though for the last few years he was inactive. He was succeeded by John L. Blaikie. Early management of the company was decentralized and vested in five standing committees with a board of twenty-five members. In the first three months following its founding, the company issued 1,131 policies worth a total of $416,634, and by 1900 had 17,402 policies in force for a total value of $25,575,142.

Twentieth century

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the company's assets rose by 25%, with $2,000,000 of these assets being invested in victory bonds. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

saw a substantial increase in lapsed policies and a sharp decrease in returns on the company's investments. In 1931, the semicentennial anniversary of the company's founding, a motion in support of

mutualization A mutual organization, or mutual society is an organization (which is often, but not always, a company (law), company or business) based on the principle of mutuality and governed by private law. Unlike a true cooperative, members usually do not ...

was passed during a special general meeting. These efforts were met with hostility by those who accused the company of embezzlement under the guise of mutualization, with an investigation by the Banking and Commerce Committee of the House being called for in Parliament by

Michael Luchkovich Michael Luchkovich (November 13, 1892 – April 21, 1973) was a Canadian politician. He was the first person of Ukrainian origin to be elected to the Parliament of Canada. Early life His father, Ephraim and mother Maria immigrated from Nova V ...

. A defence of the company in Parliament was launched by prime minister

R. B. Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947), was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in ...

, who stated that North American Life "belongs to the policy-holders" who had unanimously enacted to mutuallize; no investigation was subsequently launched. The board and management of the mutualized company included Thomas Bradshaw as president and D. E. Kilgour as general manager, with

George Stewart Henry George Stewart Henry (July 16, 1871 – September 2, 1958) was a farmer, businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as the tenth premier of Ontario from 1930 to 1934. He had acted as minister of highways while Ontario greatly ex ...

and

Louis-Alexandre Taschereau Louis-Alexandre Taschereau (; March 5, 1867 – July 6, 1952) was the 14th premier of Quebec from 1920 to 1936. He was a member of the Parti libéral du Québec. Early life Taschereau was born in Quebec City, Quebec, the son of Jean-Thoma ...

among its directors. Since its founding in 1881, the company had occupied the old

United Empire Club The United Empire Club (UEC) was an English gentlemen's club. It was formed in 1904 with premises in Piccadilly and had many high-profile members, including John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, Sir Sandford Fleming, Sir Samuel Boulton, Sir Edmun ...

building at 112 King Street West in Toronto. In 1932, the company opened its new headquarters at the same address, which was designed in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style by Marani, Lawson & Morris. This building was demolished in 1976, with some of its decorative features being moved to the grounds of the

Guild Inn The Guild Inn, or simply The Guild was a historic hotel in the Guildwood neighbourhood of Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario and was once an artists colony. The surrounding Guild Park and Gardens is notable for a sculpture garden consisting of the res ...

. By 1935, sales of life insurance had returned to normal. North_American_Life_hq

Post-war era

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the company saw its total business in force increase at a rate of 9% per annum, from $239,456,765 in 1939 to $362,085,616 in 1945. In the immediate post-war period, the company grew substantially, passing the $1 billion in force mark in 1954 with a yearly business increase of between 12% to 14%. This was owed to the company shifting its investments into

mortgages A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

and an increase in its number of

group insurance Group insurance is an insurance that covers a group of people, for example the members of a society or professional association, or the employees of a particular employer for the purpose of taking insurance. Group coverage can help reduce the proble ...

policies. In 1984, the North American Life Centre was opened at 5650 and 5700 Yonge Street in Toronto, which features a sculpture of the company's logo by

Burton Kramer Burton Kramer (born 1932) is a Canadian graphic designer and artist who lives and works in Toronto. Early life and education Kramer was born in 1932 in New York City. He graduated with a BSc From IIT Institute of Design, The Institute of Desig ...

. The new building was shared with

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...

, and was constructed on the site where prime minister

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

was born; a commemorative plaque can be found on the facade. By 1987, total assets numbered $3.7 billion.

Amalgamation

In 1992, North American Life posted a 25% fall in profits as a result of higher health insurance claims and lower investment income from its real estate and equity portfolios. In 1996, the company amalgamated with The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company to form

. With this amalgamation, Manulife Financial acquired ownership of Elliot & Page Limited, a mutual funds company, and entered into the mutual fund business, renaming the new subsidiary Manulife Financial Asset Management Limited. The new company became the largest group life and health carrier in Canada, representing 13% of the market at the time of the amalgamation.

References