The Insurance Bureau of Canada has welcomed the federal government’s Plan for a Stronger Canada, calling for urgent progress on the proposed Financial Crimes Agency as the next concrete step in tackling an insurance fraud burden the industry estimates at between $3 billion and $5 billion annually.
Prime Minister Mark Carney launched the plan on October 29, 2026 - Canada’s first national security strategy in over 20 years. It sets out five priorities: strengthening economic security and resilience, advancing a disciplined foreign policy that diversifies partnerships, rebuilding the Canadian Armed Forces, protecting Canadians from criminal and national security threats, and improving intelligence capabilities. The previous national security framework, drafted more than 20 years ago, did not lay out a plan to protect the economy. The inclusion of financial crime and cyber resilience as pillars of national security policy - rather than purely law enforcement matters - gives the insurance industry a seat at a table it has long sought.
The IBC’s $3-5 billion annual insurance fraud estimate is the industry’s own figure, but it sits alongside broader data that reinforces the scale of the problem. Canadians lost $704 million to fraud in 2025 as reported to authorities - a figure widely understood to represent a fraction of actual losses given chronic under-reporting. For brokers, the connection is direct: fraud costs feed into claims inflation, which feeds into premium pressure, which becomes a client conversation at every commercial and personal lines renewal.
The IBC’s most specific call is for progress on Bill C-29, the Financial Crimes Agency Act. The federal government introduced the legislation on April 27, 2026, proposing the creation of a specialized law enforcement agency dedicated to investigating serious and complex financial crimes and contributing to the recovery of proceeds of crime. The new independent agency will have police powers and civilian leadership, and report to the Minister of Finance.
Bill C-29 is currently at second reading in the House of Commons. Until it passes, the agency does not exist. The IBC’s statement is partly a public push to keep legislative momentum behind a bill that carries significant implications for financial crime enforcement across the sector - including insurance fraud, which under Bill C-29’s broad definition of financial crime would fall within the new agency’s potential mandate.
Canada’s approach to financial crime enforcement has long been criticised as fragmented. The FCA is designed to replace that fragmentation with a single, specialist body - the most significant structural change to financial crime enforcement in Canada in a generation.
The strategy also reaffirms Canada’s commitment to implementing its National Cyber Security Strategy. For insurers and brokers, the cyber dimension of the plan is increasingly inseparable from underwriting: as cyber threats continue to evolve alongside emerging technologies, the resilience of businesses and critical infrastructure directly affects the risk profile of the clients they cover and the losses they are asked to pay.
Liam McGuinty, vice-president of Federal Affairs at IBC, said: “Fraud and organized crime are complex threats that require a coordinated national response, bringing together all levels of governments, law enforcement, the insurance industry and other private-sector partners. Continued support for improved information sharing and partnership will be critical to achieving meaningful results.
“IBC is particularly pleased to see the government reaffirm its commitment to combatting financial crime through the proposed creation of the Financial Crimes Agency. We look forward to the agency becoming operational following the passage of Bill C-29 and to working with government and enforcement partners to strengthen Canada’s efforts to combat financial crime in Canada.”
