On June 4, 2024, CAFII held its second annual reception event of the year, which was hosted by Securian Canada. The event occurred following the June 2024 Board of Directors meeting. The highlight was a presentation by the Senior Vice President of Pollara Insights, Lesli Martin, on Canada’s insurance industry post-pandemic. Before L. Martin took the stage, however, the CEO of Securian Canada, Nigel Branker, gave a few introductory remarks. He thanked everyone for coming and commented on CAFII’s ongoing success. He expressed Securian Canada’s interest in and commitment to upholding its relationship with CAFII. Finally, he concluded with a land acknowledgment before passing the microphone to L. Martin.
Lesli Martin began her presentation by asking the crowd how they think Canadians are doing post-pandemic. According to Pollara’s research, 73% of Canadians feel Canada is in a recession. As high as that number is, since December 2023, this sentiment has actually declined. That being said, 44% of Canadians feel the recession will only continue to worsen as 2024 goes on, globally and nationally.
Looking internally, many feel the cost of living in Canada is unmanageable. In fact, 43% expect to fall behind in their financial saving goals, including maintaining healthy financial management habits. Groceries and gas are two other areas of concern for Canadians. In general, the top three financial issues weighing on Canadians’ minds are:
- Cost of housing: Mortgage renewal is a real concern for 73% of Canadians.
- Inflation: When compared to its peer countries, 4/10 Canadians feel Canada has higher inflation rates than others.
- Healthcare: 61% of Canadians are very concerned, while 35% are somewhat concerned, with the state of healthcare in Canada, particularly after the pandemic.
While sentiments towards inflation and housing are poor, anxiety and depression levels have lessened since the pandemic; however, they are higher than pre-pandemic levels. 58% feel annoyed or angry, and 21% say they are very angry. Ontarians expressed the highest levels of anger, mostly due to anxiety about the national and provincial economies.
Post-pandemic has seen a decline in remote work, with many companies requiring employees to be in-office 1 to 5 days a week. Generally, Canadians are open to hybrid work options. However, if forced to go back to the office full-time, 41% of Canadians said they would be unhappy and begin to look for work elsewhere.
Lesli Martin concluded her presentation with a brief analysis of Canadians’ feelings toward the American presidential election and its potential impact on Canada’s economy. 14% of Canadians feel that Donald Trump winning the presidency would be good for Canada’s economy, whereas 62% feel it would be bad. Conversely, 35% of Canadians feel that Joe Biden winning the presidency would be good for Canada’s economy versus 19% who feel it will be bad.
Peter Thompson, president and CEO of National Bank and CAFII’s former Board Chair, thanked Lesli Martin. Valerie Gillis, CAFII’s new Board Chair and the head of TD Insurance, then introduced herself and thanked P. Thompson for his work with CAFII and presented him with a gift to commemorate his time with the Association.
Karyn Kasperski, CAFII’s new EOC Chair and the Director of Regulatory Initiatives and Creditor Insurance with RBC, spoke next. She thanked Rob Dobbins, the Senior Director of Compliance at Assurant Canada and CAFII’s former EOC Chair and presented him with an appreciation gift as well. R. Dobbins expressed a few words of gratitude for his time with CAFII.
The speeches concluded, and attendees were encouraged to continue mingling.
