Canada Life History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones

The roots of Canada Life trace back to early Victorian North America and the visionary determination of Hugh Cossart Baker Sr. In 1847, Baker, a respected banker and mathematician in Hamilton, Upper Canada (now Ontario), sought to purchase a life insurance policy to provide financial security for his growing family. At the time, no domestic life insurance company existed anywhere in British North America. To obtain coverage, Baker was forced to undertake a grueling 500-mile journey on horseback, stagecoach, and river steamer to New York City to undergo medical underwriting and purchase a policy from a British mutual insurer. Convinced that Canadians urgently required accessible, locally managed financial protection, Baker assembled a group of 20 prominent Hamilton civic and business leaders upon his return. On August 21, 1847, they formally founded The Canada Life Assurance Company. In 1849, the Parliament of the Province of Canada incorporated the company, establishing the foundational stone of the modern Canadian life insurance industry.