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Community has always been Wawanesa’s cornerstone

Kira Conrad, senior community impact specialist at The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company, worked for over a decade in the field of corporate social responsibility before she proudly joined Wawanesa in 2022.

“I feel very lucky to be in my role here, because Wawanesa is a company that truly walks its talk — and that talk is about our commitment to helping build thriving communities,” Conrad says.

Founded 130 years ago by 20 local farmers in the village of Wawanesa in western Manitoba, the mutual insurance company has always kept community investment as its cornerstone, says Conrad.

“We’re a purpose-driven organization, and because every decision that every employee makes really connects to us being there for our communities and members, we empower our employees to get meaningfully involved,” she says.

To reinforce that goal, Wawanesa’s My Community Day program provides each employee a paid day every year to volunteer with a charity, non-profit organization or community program. Every employee who takes advantage of the initiative also receives $100 to donate to a cause close to their heart.

“This is a place where everyone is working towards our shared purpose — helping communities thrive in a changing world,” says Conrad.

Wawanesa is emphasizing its founding value more than ever right now, as it’s undertaking a significant internal restructuring to become more efficient so that more can be invested back in Canadian communities, says Randy Dhillon, senior vice-president and chief people officer.

“We’ve always been a regional-based business and are currently moving to a national business structure so we can strategize and think nationally while acting and delivering locally,” Dhillon says. “Our purpose — to help communities thrive — is our reason for existing, and with a more efficient organization, we can do more for the places where we live and work.”

It’s crucial that Wawanesa anchors itself in its values during a time of transformation, Dhillon says, because community focus and the role employees play in it helps bring the company its high-quality workforce.

“We have a competitive total rewards package in terms of compensation and benefits, but the community focus is a significant factor in making Wawanesa such an excellent place to work,” says Dhillon. “It has certainly been one of the main drivers of why I’m here.”

The organization lives its values and strengthens communities in other ways too. Wawanesa’s Climate Champions program invests $2 million each year to help people on the front lines of climate change. It also holds an annual workplace United Way campaign, which, thanks to the generosity of its employees, raised $1.6 million last year.

In 2025, Wawanesa provided a special donation of $500,000, and invited employees to nominate local organizations as possible recipients. Wawanesa also empowered its employees to make a difference by providing its employee groups with $70,000 to donate to charities that support initiatives related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. And when wildfires raged in Manitoba last year, bringing numerous evacuees to Winnipeg, Wawanesa stepped up.

“The convention centre, located near our national headquarters, was the hub for helping evacuees, especially for organizing the huge amount of donations,” Conrad says. “We sent more than 125 employees for four days to sort items and make sure the process to collect donations was as easy as possible for evacuees.”

For Dhillon and Conrad, it was a response only to be expected of Wawanesa and its employees.

“When our communities need us, we will be there, ready to roll up our sleeves and take action,” says Dhillon. “Our people want to do the best that they can, in the time that they have, and make a difference.”