The year was 1887. Canada was young and strong, the great railway spanned the country and enterprise flourished. George Gooderham, president of Gooderham & Worts Distillery, the Bank of Toronto, and the Canada Permanent Mortgage Corporation, surmised that the robust economy might be an excellent environment in which to start a wholly Canadian casualty insurance company. Believing in George Gooderham’s new business venture, Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister and one of Confederation’s signatories, agreed to serve as the Dominion’s first President.

The company opened in November, 1887 at 38 King Street East in Toronto. Four short years later, the nation mourned the passing of Sir John A. Macdonald. In a speech in the House of Commons, Sir Wilfred Laurier remarked, “To his statesmanship, it is written in the history of Canada.”

At the turn of the century, the company was growing rapidly, expanding both geographically and in the range of products that it offered. George Gooderham, the company’s second president who died in 1905, believed that the development of the company should always be along sound and conservative lines. His son, Albert Gooderham, articulated this management philosophy when he said, “We are building for the future, not the immediate present.” To this principle of building slowly but surely, the company owes much of its growth and success. Successive generations of the Gooderham’s have continued their involvement in the company, with Peter Gooderham, George’s great-grandson, currently serving as Chairman of the Board.

In 1969, the Board of Directors voted to join with The Empire Life Insurance Company as wholly-owned subsidiaries of E-L Financial Corporation, a move that formalized the close relationship between the Gooderhams and the Jackmans who controlled Empire Life. On December 11, 1991, Henry N.R. Jackman, then Chairman and President of E-L Financial Corporation Limited and Vice Chairman of The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company Limited, was appointed Ontario’s 25th Lieutenant Governor.
 

1. This bust of Sir John A. Macdonald is proudly displayed in the office of the president and CEO at the Dominion Head Office in Toronto. 2. the Dominion's Logo which is also teh Canadian Coat of Arms, reflects how the history of the company is closely integrated with the history of Canada.

Today, The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company is one of Canada’s largest general insurance companies. With regional centres across Canada, supported by independent insurance brokers, The Dominion provides Canadians with a full range of personal property and business insurance services. Thousands of Canadians have been employed by The Dominion since its founding and events such as the employee 25-Year Club help to keep the tradition strong. The Dominion Group Foundation, established in 1978, coordinates the company’s long-standing support of non-profit projects in education, medicine, research, social services and the arts.

The future offers many challenges for the financial services sector, as government policy alters the competitive arena. George L. Cooke, The Dominion’s current President, notes that “With our proud heritage as the foundation, we are building a strong and promising future, one that would make George Gooderham and Sir John A. Macdonald proud and one that recognizes that insurance is first and foremost a service industry in which our people will always make the difference.”