Director Government Relations & Industry Affairs

The Canada Life Assurance Company•Montreal, QC

3d•CA$114,200 - CA$164,200•Hybrid

About The Position

Provide enterprise leadership for Canada Life’s public policy and government relations agenda, translating strategy into coordinated, high‑quality execution across federal and provincial jurisdictions. The Director builds a forward‑looking policy insights engine, leads cross‑enterprise advocacy and submissions, strengthens relationships with elected officials and senior public servants, and ensures tight alignment with corporate strategy, legal, risk, and brand.

Requirements

8–12+ years in public policy, government relations or regulatory affairs, including experience briefing senior executives and coordinating multi‑stakeholder submissions
Expertise in legislative and regulatory process
Proven ability to influence policy outcomes and build relationships
Excellent communication and advocacy skills, including written materials, and verbal briefing ability

Nice To Haves

Experience in financial services or adjacent sectors is an asset
Bilingualism (English/French) is considered a strong asset
fluent in French and English

Responsibilities

Develop and operationalize a forward-looking public policy and industry affairs strategy into an annual workplan aligned to corporate strategy and business priorities
Lead an integrated research and insights program, including horizon scanning, impact assessments and decision briefs for executive decision makers
Coordinate national and regional policy intelligence to anticipate emerging trends and shape proactive responses
Advise the Vice President of Public Policy & Government Relations on legislative, political and regulatory developments with strategic implications
Build and maintain trusted relationships with federal, provincial and municipal officials and policymakers
Plan and deliver advocacy campaigns (meetings, roundtables, submissions, coalitions), with clear objectives and outcome tracking
Coordinate company positions across business units; ensure alignment and disciplined messaging
Represent Canada Life in industry associations and policy forums
Guide cross‑industry initiatives and consultation responses, enhancing our reputation as an industry leader
Cultivate strategy relationships with external stakeholders and partners to advance shared policy objectives
Run a policy pipeline and escalation framework, collaborating with communications, legal, compliance, risk, strategy and business unit leaders to ensure policy engagement, proactive storytelling and risk mitigation
Ensure policy positions reflect enterprise risk appetite and legal/compliance guardrails
Provide regular briefings and policy education to senior leadership
Support executive participation in key external events and forums