# Canada Life Canada Life is an Insurance based in Toronto, Canada. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Insurance - **Headquarters:** Toronto, Canada - **Region:** North America - **Address:** Toronto, ON, Canada - **Founded:** 1847 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** canadalife.com - **LinkedIn:** https://ca.linkedin.com/company/canada-life - **Wikidata:** Q3115937 ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About Canada Life is a financial services company founded in 1903 in Potters Bar, England. It offers products such as retirement income plans, investment bonds, insurance protection, and estate planning services. The company serves customers with personal and group financial protection, retirement planning, and wealth management needs. ## Sectors - Real Estate - Infrastructure - Private Credit - Commercial Real Estate - Residential Real Estate ## People - Paul Mahon — President and Chief Executive Officer, Great-West Lifeco - Jeff Macoun — President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada Life ## Questions ### Who runs investment decisions at Canada Life? Investment oversight ultimately rolls up to Paul Mahon as President and CEO of parent company Great-West Lifeco. Day-to-day investment management for Canada Life's general account falls under the leadership of the firm's investment division, with significant portfolio construction and asset allocation decisions made at the Great-West Lifeco group level. Jeff Macoun, as President and COO of Canada Life, oversees the firm's Canadian operations, including its real estate portfolio, which is managed directly rather than through external managers. ### How does Canada Life source its real estate and infrastructure deals? Canada Life acquires and develops assets directly using its balance sheet, a model that mirrors Canada's large pension funds more than it does third-party fund managers. The firm targets primarily Canadian commercial and residential real estate, with properties spanning Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Because it invests permanent insurance capital without fund-life constraints, Canada Life can hold properties for decades and prioritize long-term income over short-term market cycles. ### What is the relationship between Canada Life and Power Corporation? Canada Life is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, which is controlled by Power Corporation of Canada, a Montreal-based holding company with roots in the Desmarais family. This positions Canada Life within a broader financial ecosystem that includes IGM Financial (Investors Group, Mackenzie Investments) and, until its 2023 sale, Putnam Investments. The structure allows Canada Life to participate in internal capital reallocation, such as the acquisition of IPC from IGM, and gives it privileged co-investment and distribution relationships across the group. ### Is Canada Life primarily an insurance company or an asset manager? Canada Life is both. It is a regulated Canadian life insurer that manufactures and distributes insurance and wealth products, but its general account — the pool of assets backing its policyholder liabilities — is one of the country's largest pools of institutional capital. On that basis, it functions as a buy-side asset owner that directly manages substantial real estate and fixed-income portfolios, making it a frequent counterparty to Canadian and global institutional investors. ### How is Canada Life's wealth management business structured relative to IGM Financial? While IGM Financial serves as the primary wealth management and mutual fund arm within the Power Corporation group, Canada Life maintains its own distribution network of advisors selling insurance and wealth products. The two entities occasionally transact — Canada Life's acquisition of IPC from IGM being a notable example — but they operate with distinct brands and advisor forces. The group's structure gives Canada Life access to mass-affluent wealth flows without directly competing with IGM's core asset management business. ## Related profiles - [Canada Goodyear Tire & Rubber Pension Plan](https://altss.com/profile/canada-goodyear-tire-rubber-pension-plan) - [Canadian National Railway Co. (CN)](https://altss.com/profile/canadian-national-railway-co-cn) --- Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/canada-life Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology