McDougall Insurance Brokers has acquired United Link Insurance Brokers, a Sudbury-based brokerage, effective August 31.
The deal brings the McDougall Group to approximately $1.6 billion in annual premiums, 1,500 employees and more than 90 office locations, positioning it as one of the largest brokerages in Ontario. Wesley Harmiden, United Link's owner, will remain as president and continue leading the brokerage post-transaction.
McDougall's release emphasized continuity for United Link's existing book: brokers were instructed not to amend broker codes or make changes to United Link policies for now, with detailed logistical guidance to follow.
This acquisition extends a pattern that has accelerated markedly since Definity Financial Corporation acquired Drayden Insurance and McFarlan Rowlands in 2023 for a combined $440 million, after first increasing its ownership stake in McDougall from roughly 25% to 75% in October 2022. McDougall doubled to over $1 billion in gross written premium that year, then added nine more deals in 2024, pushing GWP to $1.2 billion, according to Insurance Business's own reporting earlier this year.
The pace has only intensified since. Duliban Insurance joined McDougall as a division in June 2025, and has itself gone on to complete three acquisitions in 2026 alone: Annex Insurance Group in March, Insuranceland in August, and, just weeks before this United Link deal, a combination with Tripemco. That last deal landed shortly after Definity told investors on its July 31 second-quarter earnings call that its national broker platform was nearing $2 billion in gross written premium, a figure this United Link acquisition pushes further toward.
For competing independent brokerages, particularly smaller, owner-led firms in Northern and regional Ontario markets, McDougall's pace of acquisition activity, roughly a dozen deals across P&C and financial services since 2022, signals that consolidation pressure in this segment isn't slowing down.
The structural pattern across these deals has been consistent: acquired brokerages retain their existing leadership and local identity as a division within the larger group, as Harmiden's continued presidency at United Link, Vince Vaccarello's continued role at Tripemco, and Jason Duliban's own leadership all illustrate, rather than being fully absorbed and rebranded.
For brokers and owners weighing succession or growth options, that consistent structure is likely part of what's making McDougall an attractive acquirer relative to models that require fuller integration or rebranding.
