Website: eckler.ca
Head office address (Canada): 5140 Yonge Street, Suite 1700, Toronto, ON M2N 6L7
Year established: 1927
Ownership structure: private, Canadian; owned and operated by active principals
Target market/client profile: pension plans, group benefits, insurers, and institutional investors
Number of professional staff: more than 400 employees
Canadian office locations: Toronto (head office), Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal, Quebec City, Fredericton, and Halifax; consultant presence in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland
Eckler is a Canadian actuarial and consulting firm based in Toronto, with offices across Canada and the Caribbean. The firm says it is Canada’s largest independent actuarial consulting firm and works with more than 500 clients. It is also a founding member of Abelica Global, a consulting alliance with member firms in 25 countries.
The company traces its origins to 1927, when Samuel Eckler founded the firm in Toronto. It launched under the name Eckler Partners Ltd. and focused on pension consulting, government healthcare programs, and workers’ compensation work.
Samuel Eckler also served on the Ontario Committee on Portable Pensions, where the firm says he contributed to shaping pension legislation in Canada.
In 1978, Eckler established a formal business relationship with Milliman, a US-based actuarial and consulting firm. The two firms have maintained that affiliation for more than four decades. That relationship extended both firms’ reach across a wide range of industries and client types.
The company also expanded beyond Canada and set up offices in Barbados and Jamaica. In 2015, the firm launched Club Vita Canada, a longevity analytics business, through its work in risk management.
The firm also partnered with Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald as a resident scholar. Her research centres on the financial security of Canadians, an area closely tied to the company’s pension and retirement consulting practice.
In 2019, Eckler formalized a purpose statement centred on helping people and organizations build a more secure future. The firm appointed Richard Brown as managing principal in May 2023.
In 2025, the firm released findings from its annual compensation planning survey. The data showed projected average base salary increases of 3.3 percent across Canada in 2026.
That marked the third straight year of slowing salary growth nationally. Benefits and Pensions Monitor (BPM) covered Eckler’s 2026 compensation planning findings, which featured principal Anand Parsan on employer compensation trends.
In 2026, a session at the CPBI Saskatchewan Conference featured the firm’s senior director of pensions Troy Milnthorp. Milnthorp spoke about whether expanding the Canada Pension Plan could address retirement savings gaps for Canadians.
Eckler provides consulting across the following specialties:
Eckler also consults for life and property and casualty insurers on actuarial challenges. The firm’s technology suite supports plan sponsors, insurers, and plan members. The firm provides dedicated consulting for Indigenous communities across Canada.
Richard Brown serves as managing principal and chair of the board of directors at Eckler. He joined the firm in 2013 as a pension actuary and has 20 years of experience in pension risk management. Brown also chairs the firm’s Risk Management Committee.
Brown leads Eckler’s senior team, which includes:
The board of directors has eight members, drawn from principals across the firm’s practice areas. Other directors include:
The board oversees the firm’s strategy, long-term direction, and governance. Denning chairs the People and Culture Committee, Kulyk leads the Audit and Finance Committee, and Brown heads the Risk Management Committee.
Eckler serves a mix of public and private sector clients across Canada. Its client base includes:
The firm says some of its client relationships date back to founder Samuel Eckler.
The firm’s consulting team works out of offices from Vancouver to Halifax, with additional consultant support in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland. All consulting teams are based in Canada, and the firm says senior leadership is embedded in each client engagement. It also maintains offices in Barbados and Jamaica for clients in the Caribbean.
For clients with operations outside Canada, the firm draws on its global alliances to provide informed advice across borders. That reach covers clients with interests in the US, the UK, parts of Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Eckler operates as an independent consulting firm and does not underwrite insurance or manage investment assets directly. The firm says that independence positions it to offer unbiased advice to plan sponsors, insurers, and institutional investors.
Eckler has earned recognition for workplace culture and the contributions of its professionals.
Eckler runs a scholarship and award program at several Canadian universities. The scholarships support students in fields related to actuarial science, finance, and consulting. They are named after past firm leaders:
The firm has also published a Reconciliation Action Plan that outlines its commitments to Indigenous communities across Canada. Its employees can also take part in a corporate social responsibility program through internal resource groups.
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