Stéphane Lespérance (pictured) has spent nearly three decades at the top of the Canadian insurance broking market - the last year of them as president and CEO of Aon Canada. He is now leaving to become the founding CEO of Lockton's new Canadian retail business, in a move that signals both the ambition of Lockton's push into one of the world's top 10 insurance markets and the growing appeal of the independent broker model to executives who have spent their careers inside the global consolidators.
Lockton announced the appointment today from Toronto. Lespérance will lead the build-out of a Canadian-led organization combining local market judgement with Lockton's global network, in a market worth approximately CA$12.9 billion in broker and agency revenue in 2026, according to IBISWorld data.
Lespérance joined Aon Canada in 2001 and spent 24 years in progressively senior roles, becoming president in 2019 and taking on the President and CEO title in 2025. He chairs the board of governors of The Insurance Institute of Canada - the premier professional education body for Canada's P&C insurance industry, which sets professional standards through the nationally and internationally recognised Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) and Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) designations, and has a membership of over 41,000. He also studied risk management at l'Université du Québec à Montréal and has completed executive education programmes at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
His departure from Aon Canada is notable because of how strong a position he is leaving. Aon globally posted US$5.0 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2026, a 6% year-over-year increase, with its commercial risk segment delivering its fourth consecutive quarter of 6% or higher organic growth, according to Aon's Q1 2026 earnings release. CEO Greg Case has described demand as "increasing among global, large, and middle-market clients for integrated, high-value solutions that combine expertise, data, and analytics at scale." Against that backdrop, losing the head of its Canadian operation to a privately held competitor is a pointed data point - and Lockton knows it.
Ron Lockton, the firm's chairman and CEO, said the appointment spoke to "the strength and appeal of our privately held model."
"Canada is one of the world's top 10 insurance markets, a sophisticated, globally connected economy where businesses are navigating increasingly complex, interconnected risks," he said. "Through our longstanding relationships in Canada, we've consistently heard the need for deeper specialisation and a truly client-centric advisory model. Lockton's independent structure allows us to meet that need in a meaningful way. Bringing on a leader of Stéphane's calibre speaks to the strength and appeal of our privately held model. He brings the experience, credibility, and strategic vision required to deliver a premier advisory experience for clients across Canada."
The Canadian commercial insurance brokerage market is large, competitive, and concentrated. Brokers and independent agents accounted for approximately 58% of the Canadian P&C insurance distribution market in 2025, according to Custom Market Insights - a distribution dominance that reflects both regulatory structures that reward broker compensation and deep trust relationships between commercial clients and their advisors. For mid- and large-market companies, the established order has long been defined by the global consolidators, with Aon, Marsh McLennan, and their peers commanding the top tier of the corporate risk advisory market.
Lockton's bet is that a sufficiently well-led independent operation can take share from that order by doing what publicly listed brokers structurally cannot: focus entirely on clients without the competing pressures of quarterly earnings, shareholder returns, or acquisition integration cycles. It is the same argument Lockton has made in other markets - and the results elsewhere suggest it has been working. Lockton's FY2026 results showed global revenue of US$4.5 billion and six consecutive years of double-digit organic growth, achieved without a transformative acquisition. Canada is the next market to test whether that model translates, with Lespérance as the proof point that it can attract the talent to do so.
Lespérance framed the opportunity in terms of the risk landscape facing Canadian businesses rather than brokerage market dynamics - though the two are closely related.
"More than ever, Canadian businesses need a partner who understands the increasingly complex risk environment they face, from trade and supply chain uncertainty and cyber threats to workforce pressures, rising benefits costs, climate resilience and sector-specific challenges," he said. "Lockton's independent model is highly relevant to the Canadian market today. It provides the freedom to build a truly client-centric platform, allowing us to focus on long-term client success. I'm excited to bring together a collaborative team of experts to deliver exceptional results for our Canadian clients."
The climate risk dimension of that framing is grounded in recent Canadian experience. Severe weather-related insured losses in Canada reached CA$8.5 billion in 2024, the highest on record and nearly three times the 2023 figure, according to Custom Market Insights - a number that has materially sharpened demand for sophisticated climate and catastrophe risk advisory among Canadian corporations.
Lockton said it will share further details in the months ahead as it builds out its Canadian leadership team, local market presence, and advisory capabilities. The Canadian retail business operates as Lockton Brokers, ULC. For now, the appointment of Lespérance is the signal: Lockton is not entering the Canadian market tentatively. It has hired the person who was, until this week, running the Canadian operation of the world's second-largest broker - and given him a blank sheet of paper.
