You could say that corporate social responsibility is in our DNA. Medavie was built on a foundation of social good, dating back to 1943 when we were founded as a co-operative to provide affordable coverage for hospital stays.

As a not-for-profit, we are regulated and access our capital differently. Unlike a for-profit that has to answer to shareholders and deliver dividends, we reinvest our earnings in our business to advance new technologies and innovations, and in our communities to help address some of the most pressing health care challenges Canada faces.

Partnerships and programs

As a corporate citizen, we partner with community-based organizations through our foundation and invest in initiatives that make a positive difference in the lives of Canadians, particularly by investing in increased access to healthy food and active living, as well as youth mental health services and supports. We also support programs for Public Safety Personnel and their families impacted by Post-Traumatic Stress.

Since 2011, we have contributed more than $30 million to community-based organizations through the Medavie Foundation alone.

We balance purpose and performance by taking a values-driven approach to business that emphasizes the importance of being caring, accountable, responsive, innovative and community-minded to our individual and collective wellbeing. These values guide our team of more than 8,000 professionals in nine provinces every day.

Our community giving extends to the causes close to our employees' hearts, matching the personal hours they volunteer and the dollars they raise through our Time Equals Money and Team Matching Programs. That's in addition to the investments we make through our Building Healthy Communities sponsorships.

In 2022, our community giving totalled $5.4 million and supported over 235 community-based organizations and initiatives across Canada.

Initiatives and Investments

Major initiatives include our three-year partnership with the Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund, an Indigenous-led organization that supports the recovery and rebuilding of communities and provides longer-term resources that build on the Indigenous peoples' resilience, traditional knowledge and lived experience.

We support partners working to address barriers and inequities disproportionately experienced by some communities. We collaborate with partners looking to Centre de ressources et d'Action communautaire de La Petite-Patrie in Montreal and Black Creek Community Farm in Toronto, Nathan’s Urban Farm in London, Ontario, and Food for All New Brunswick to strengthen local food systems for communities that experience higher rates of food insecurity.

To help youth access mental health services, we partner with organizations like the Youth Project Society of Nova Scotia to invest in no-cost mental health counselling for 2SLGBTQIA+ across the province. We also have a partnership with Choices for Youth in Newfoundland and Labrador to support the development of a province-wide integrated youth services initiative to improve access to youth mental health services.

We have partnerships with organizations, such as Atlantic Wellness in New Brunswick and Linck in Chatham-Kent, to ensure youth and their families have timely access to mental health care. Both non-profits deliver youth-friendly community-based mental health services by licensed counsellors and therapists so youth can access the help they need when they need it.

Medavie is also proud to be a long-time partner of Hope Blooms and an investor in two new programs increasing access to healthy food while strengthening community inclusion and wellbeing. These programs located in North End Halifax are a Global Kitchen for Social Change and a Food without Borders program. In the last 12 years, the non-profit has produced over 50,000 pounds of organic vegetables and fruit at no cost for local residents living with food insecurity.

Additionally, we invest in community programs and spaces where people can be physically active, including BGC Clubs and YMCAs. We are also proud to partner with KidSport New Brunswick, which provides grants to young people from families facing financial barriers so they can participate in registered sports programs and experience the lifelong benefits of a season of sport.

Scholarships and awards

Each year, we award at least five scholarships of $5,000 to university and community college students living with a mental health challenge of their own or that of a family member and pursuing health-related post-secondary studies. These scholarships are renewable for up to four years for a total value of $20,000 each. We are proud to have also received national recognition for our example of community investment and social responsibility, most recently as a platinum winner of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures for having received this honour for two consecutive years in 2021 and 2022.

We are also certified as a Caring Company by Imagine Canada, and we were an Excellence Awardee for corporate social responsibility in both the 2022 Insurance Business Canada and HR Canada awards programs.