The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has initiated enforcement action against insurance agent Trapper Goldsmith, alleging he is not suitable to hold a licence under the province's Insurance Act.
FSRA alleged that Goldsmith has demonstrated incompetence or untrustworthiness in transacting insurance agency business, and is proposing to revoke his insurance agent licence as a result. These are allegations only, and the FSRA has not made a final finding.
Goldsmith has requested a hearing before the Financial Services Tribunal to contest the proposal.
Under the Insurance Act, agents must demonstrate they are suitable to hold a licence, a standard that applies not only when a licence is first granted but on an ongoing basis.
FSRA can move to suspend or revoke a licence if it determines an agent no longer meets that standard, though the agent retains the right to challenge the proposal before the Financial Services Tribunal, an independent body that adjudicates disputes over FSRA's regulatory decisions.
The proceeding lands amid a broader increase in FSRA enforcement activity. The regulator initiated 100 enforcement actions in the 2024-25 fiscal year, up from 65 the year before, and imposed 80 unique sanctions across the sectors it oversees, up from 54 previously. Of those sanctions, 27 were in the life insurance sector specifically, up from 15 the year before, including 13 licence revocations or refusals.
As of June 30, 2025, FSRA licensed 71,680 insurance agents in the province.
FSRA reported a 22% year-over-year increase in misconduct reports filed by insurers on their agents, a rise the regulator has linked to a life agent misconduct reporting portal it launched in 2023, which streamlined the process for insurers to flag potentially unsuitable agents to the regulator.
"FSRA is committed to enforcement that is both fair and proportionate for the regulated sectors," the regulator said, according to its enforcement reporting cited by Insurance Business. FSRA has described its approach as increasingly linking supervisory findings, complaints and misconduct reports to support enforcement action where warranted.
Under the Insurance Act, insurers are also required to maintain a system ensuring that agents acting on their behalf comply with licensing requirements, meaning insurers themselves can face regulatory exposure if that oversight is found lacking.
The case also comes as FSRA works through a separate initiative aimed at extending oversight further up the distribution chain. The regulator had proposed a licensing and compliance framework specifically for life and health managing general agents, Proposed Rule 2025-001, which would have required MGAs to obtain a licence, meet suitability standards and implement formal compliance systems.
FSRA paused that rule in February 2026 after industry feedback raised concerns that its definition of "MGA" was too broad and risked capturing individual advisors and small practices that are not true distribution-level intermediaries. The Ontario government has said it remains committed to establishing an MGA licensing framework and will set out next steps in due course.
Because Goldsmith has requested a hearing, FSRA's proposal to revoke his licence will not take effect unless and until the Tribunal rules on the matter. The case adds to a growing list of licence-related enforcement actions FSRA has brought against agents in the life insurance sector over the past two fiscal years.
