Several notable transactions took place in Canada in 2023. Major national and international firms continued their acquisition streak to consolidate the network of brokerage firms in damage, benefits, or financial services. 

A subsidiary of Intact Financial Corporation, BrokerLink continued its brokerage network consolidation in 2023. The most recent purchases were made in late autumn, with three transactions announced simultaneously in Ontario. Two other acquisitions had been made a few weeks earlier. BrokerLink completed around 18 acquisitions in 2023. 

The most recent transaction by Navacord was through its subsidiary Selecpath Insurance in Ontario in December. It was the 21st acquisition by the consolidator in 2023. Previous transactions had been announced in late September, occurring in Toronto and Vancouver. Its President T. Marshall Saad discussed Navacord's growth appetites with Insurance Journal in June. 

HUB International, headquartered in Chicago, also made several acquisitions in Canada in 2023. This includes a first transaction in Quebec in two years. Other acquisitions were made elsewhere in Canada in 2023, one related to a Mississauga firm specializing in the cannabis industry. HUB also made purchases in British Columbia in August, in the Prairies in February, and again in Ontario in January. 

Last August, Arthur J. Gallagher announced the acquisition of A.H. Horn and Associates, an Ontario firm specializing in sales development and consulting services. 

NFP, with about 1,000 of its 7,400 employees in Canada, acquired the Ontario firm Rhodes & Williams at the end of May. 

Westland Insurance conducted several acquisitions in Canada at the beginning of 2023. Two of them took place in Quebec. After acquiring Assurances R. Legault in January, Westland purchased Niche Assurance in February. Two more deals were made in August. 

Insurers as well  

Several insurers also took advantage of 2023 to make acquisitions.

At the beginning of 2023, Co-operators acquired Smart Employee Benefits (SEB), which operates a technological platform for managing benefits and processing healthcare claims. A few days later, the same insurer announced the acquisition of Assurances Oligny, established in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Quebec) since 1959. 

At the end of spring, Great-West Lifeco announced the sale of Putnam Investments to Franklin Resources, operating under the name Franklin Templeton. The company agreed to pay an amount estimated between $1.7 and $1.8 billion USD. 

Three other transactions were conducted by Canada Life, a subsidiary of Great-West, in 2023. On April 4, the insurer announced the purchase of Investment Planning Counsel from IGM Financial. In mid-June, Canada Life reached an agreement to acquire Value Partners Group. At the end of the year, Canada Life announced the sale of its residential mortgage loan portfolio to Nesto. 

Through its brokerage distribution subsidiary Assurances McDougall, Definity Financial Corporation continued its expansion in May 2023 by purchasing all shares of McFarlan Rowlands and affiliated companies. The transaction is estimated at $232 million CAD. Later in June, McDougall conducted another significant transaction by acquiring the Ontario firm Drayden Insurance for $208 million CAD. 

In July, Sun Life Financial acquired all shares of Dialogue Technologies Santé (CARE on the TSX). The real net value of the transaction is $365 million CAD, or $277 million CAD for the stake not owned by Sun Life or retained by certain senior members of Dialogue. At the end of November, Sun Life announced an investment in the platform operated by Pillway. 

More recently, during an interview with the senior management of the general agent Revau, it was learned that Echelon Insurance had sold its surety portfolio to the wholesaler. 

In November, it was learned that the number of mutuals in the Promutuel Insurance group would decrease from 16 to 14 on January 1, 2024. In Chaudière-Appalaches, the companies Promutuel Insurance Montmagny-L'Islet and Promutuel Insurance Rive-Sud will become Promutuel Insurance Côte-Sud. A little further west and on both sides of the St. Lawrence river, Promutuel Bois-Francs will merge with Promutuel Portneuf-Champlain to form Promutuel Les Bâtisseurs. 

Insurance Company of Prince Edward Island (ICPEI) formed a partnership in August with the general agent Red Rock Insurance Services to serve the commercial credit insurance market. Previously listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the privatization of ICPEI was completed last March. 

Employee Benefits  

In October, AGA Group Insurance and Novacap announced the acquisition of Cangaroo, which operates a human resource management software. 

On February 13, 2023, Green Shield announced the acquisition of BCH Consultants, a company based in Rouyn-Noranda.

Other Notable Transactions  

On January 31, 2023, Equisoft confirmed the purchase of CompuOffice Software, an Ontario company. 

In August, it was learned that the company ClaimsPro/IndemniPro had acquired the firm LVV Experts a few weeks earlier. LVV was presented as the largest Quebec-owned claims expert firm. 

On November 2, the acquisition of MSA Research by Valani Global, an actuarial modeling and financial reporting firm, was announced.