As we enter 2025, many Canadians feel trepidation over what may unfold this year. From rising inflation to the recent increases in the cost of living, the forecast for the coming months has many citizens concerned. On January 6th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intention to resign after the governing Liberal Party chooses a new leader. What will this mean for Canada? While its effects may not be known this early on, the Personal & Casualty (P&C) insurance industry leaders are unfazed. Let’s find out why the P&C’s non-partisan approach to politics helps protect against Trudeau’s resignation.
Non-Partisan Approach to P&C Insurance
Canada’s Property and Casualty insurance industry leaders say their non-partisan approach to lobbying means it’s business as usual, even after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation. “By their nature, minority Parliaments always carry elements of uncertainty and instability,” Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) CEO, Peter Braid, recently commented in an email to Canadian Underwriter. “Given the political events in recent weeks and months, the announcement from the Prime Minister to both prorogue Parliament and step down following a leadership race [is] not unexpected. Braid credits one of the reasons for IBAC’s effective advocacy efforts over many decades to their non-partisan approach – connecting with members of parliament from all parties. Braid says this process will continue regardless of the Prime Minister’s announcement. “Successful advocacy requires constant work over the short, medium, and long term.”
Trudeau’s Resignation: What’s next?
According to Jason Clark, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s (IBC) climate change advocacy director, the trade organization has been preparing for a potential election in 2025. The proroguing (suspension) of the House of Commons and Parliament has a relatively modest impact on the P&C agenda. “We’ve been preparing for it for a while,” Clark commented in a recent interview. “We’ve been engaging across party lines, with the government, and with opposition parties to highlight the issues that really matter to the industry. And frankly, we think those are pretty cross-cutting, regardless of whether you’re in government or holding government to account.” He said, “It’s not a surprise, but it sets the tone for how the year begins. This will likely shape our understanding of what might lie ahead for the rest of the year.”
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reports that severe weather in Canada now causes insured losses that regularly surpass $2 billion annually.
Non-Partisan Approach to Addressing Climate Change
Canadian primary P&C insurers have weathered almost $9 billion of storms from natural catastrophes this year brought on by the effects of global warming. However, this is not without higher reinsurance prices, increased risk retention, smaller investment income contributions, and increasing property rates in 2025. Industry experts said the year can result in nearly $9 billion in natural catastrophe damage. Insurers seek to advance files on severe weather events, resilient infrastructure, a national flood insurance program for high-risk households, and emergency preparedness.
Failure to Address Flooding Concerns
IBC issued a statement last month about the government’s Fall Economic Statement (FES), which it said shows “a broken commitment” to the national flood insurance program for high-risk households targeted for 2025. It said some 1.5 million Canadian households remain at significant risk of flooding and cannot access flood insurance. “IBC and the P&C insurance industry are disappointed in the lack of urgency shown by the government on this serious issue that has impacted hundreds of thousands of Canadians,” Celyeste Power, IBC president and CEO, says in the statement.
What does this mean for insurance brokers?
For insurance brokers, it’s business as usual, says Braid. Its key advocacy priorities include promoting climate change resilience, reducing auto theft, and protecting Canadians from cyber risk. “When an election comes sometime this year, brokers will have the opportunity to convey our collective priorities to all candidates during the campaign. As we always do during federal elections, we will also reach out to each major political party to secure commitments on our key issues.”
IBC’s Jason Clark expressed some disappointment at the slow pace of action from the Trudeau government in recent months. “We have certainly hoped to see faster progress on some of our key issues,” he said. “We have worked to brief officials on these challenges and outlined what we hope to see from the federal government—whether in the immediate future or the months to come.”
In the future after Trudeau’s Resignation
It remains to be seen what and how much fallout may materialize from Prime Minister Trudeau’s resignation. As Canada prepares to enter the new year with an election on the horizon, Canadians must also brace themselves for policies Donald Trump implements as he begins his tenure as President of the United States on January 20th. In the meantime, Canadians wait for the new session of Parliament to commence on March 24, 2025.
With the temporary suspension of Parliament, several important P&C insurance industry files remain open. Whatever the outcome of the leadership race, IBC and IBAC have pledged to work across party lines to move the dial on issues facing the insurance industry and Canadian communities via the P&C non-partisan approach. “Over the years, we have undertaken cross-partisan efforts to ensure continuity and progress, and this work continues,” Clark says. “We’ve been engaging across party lines, with the government, and with opposition parties to highlight the issues that really matter to the industry. And frankly, we think those are pretty cross-cutting, regardless of whether you’re in government or holding government to account.”
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