The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), the national voice of the actuarial profession in Canada, is celebrating its golden anniversary. In 1965, a federal senate bill creating the CIA was given Royal Assent.
Though the organization was created 50 years ago, the first actuary in Canada was qualified in 1852. Every pension plan, social program, insurance policy, workers’ compensation programs, and Medicare have actuarial fingerprints on them.
“While many Canadians know little about them, actuaries have been a quiet, powerful force in Canada for more than 150 years, touching the financial well-being of every Canadian,” says Jacques Tremblay, president of the CIA. “And there’s no better illustration of the profession’s impact than the role they played in shaping Canadian financial institutions into what is widely recognized as the soundest such system in the world.”
Canadian actuaries led the way in conducting tests to ensure insurance companies were in good health. Today, these “stress tests” are standard for the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank, according to the CIA.
While the CIA celebrates this anniversary, actuaries do not sit on their laurels but continue to tackle the new financial risks emerging every day, says Tremblay.
“Actuaries have a responsibility to bring the full weight of their actuarial toolkit to bear against those risks, particularly as they relate to matters of public policy like pension reform, health care, insurance regulation, and the well-being of our financial bodies,” he continues.