Surety Association Of Canada

What Surety Association Of Canada does

The Surety Association of Canada (SAC) is a national trade advocacy association founded in 1992 and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, that represents the interests of the Canadian surety industry. Its membership spans primary surety firms, surety reinsurers, and a directory of 267 surety and insurance brokers operating across 361 office locations, with major participants including AIG Canada, Allianz Trade, Aviva, Liberty Mutual, Intact Surety, Travelers, Trisura, Western Surety, Zurich, Aon, Gallagher, and HUB International. SAC's product portfolio centers on (a) professional credentialing through the A.C.S.B. designation program (English, launched 1998 with the University of Toronto and later McMaster Continuing Education, brought in-house in Fall 2022) and its French-language counterpart, the P.A.C.C., (b) a public member broker directory, (c) e-bonding standards and digital bond guidance, (d) regulatory advocacy and prescribed bond form development (notably Form 5, 31, and 32 under Ontario's Construction Act, co-developed with the Ministry of the Attorney General), and (e) industry research including the 2025 CANCEA economic value study.

The association monetizes through annual membership dues from full and affiliate member firms, one-time non-refundable A.C.S.B./P.A.C.C. program application fees ($200 for full member employees, $400 for affiliate members, $1,000 for non-members) plus separately billed course fees, event sponsorship, and educational webinars. Course delivery runs on the D2L/Brightspace learning management system, and member services are accessed through a WebPortalOne member portal. Go-to-market is sales-led, centered on membership acquisition, A.C.S.B./P.A.C.C. enrollment, and connecting bond purchasers with member brokers via the directory. Marketing channels include the bilingual website (English and French), email newsletters, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, webinars, and industry events such as the Bob Gray Memorial Golf Tournament and the Young Professionals and Women in Surety committees.

SAC's strategic positioning is built on three defensible assets: (1) its regulator-co-designed role with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General on Construction Act prescribed bond forms, (2) the A.C.S.B./P.A.C.C. designation programs as Canada's only nationally recognized surety credentials, and (3) a coordinated industry-research function exemplified by the CANCEA 2025 macro study. The organization is privately held with no parent company, no venture or PE backing, and financials that are not publicly disclosed. Headcount is reported at 1–10 employees, and recent activity through early 2026 includes a new Ontario-Atlantic Regional Director appointment.

Name

Surety Association Of Canada

Legal name

Surety Association of Canada

Website

https://suretycanada.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Surety Association of Canada is a national trade advocacy association representing primary surety firms, reinsurers, and 267 brokers across Canada. It delivers the A.C.S.B. and P.A.C.C. professional designation programs, co-developed Ontario's Construction Act bond forms, and operates the national broker directory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississauga

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Primary revenue stream from membership fees. Full member firms, affiliate member firms, and other organizations pay annual dues to belong to the association.
2. A.C.S.B. Designation Program Fees: One-time non-refundable program application fees ($200 for full member employees, $400 for affiliate member employees, $1,000 for non-member employees) plus course fees for each required course.
3. P.A.C.C. Designation Program Fees: French-language designation program fees matching A.C.S.B. structure ($200 for full members, $400 for affiliate members, $1,000 for non-members) plus course fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Surety Association of Canada (SAC) is the national trade advocacy association that represents the interests of the surety industry across Canada. Its members include primary surety firms, surety reinsurers, surety/insurance brokers, and other related organizations. SAC delivers professional designation programs (A.C.S.B. in English and P.A.C.C. in French), operates a national member broker directory, publishes industry guidance documents (position papers, information papers, white papers), collaborates with governments on bond form standards, and provides educational resources and Construction Act of Ontario compliance guidance to construction industry stakeholders.

Product overview

The Surety Association of Canada offers a portfolio of surety bond products and educational services centered on contract and commercial surety bonds. The core products include Performance Bonds, Labour & Material Payment Bonds, Bid Bonds, and E-Bonding services for electronic bond delivery. The organization provides the A.C.S.B. Designation Program (and its French equivalent P.A.C.C.) for professional development in the surety industry through online learning via D2L/Brightspace. Additional offerings include a member broker directory, CBSA/CARM RPP customs bonds, industry guidance documents (position papers, information papers, white papers), and regulatory resources for Ontario's Construction Act compliance. The product portfolio is complemented by economic research publications and claim processing guidance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• A.C.S.B. Designation Program: Associateship of Canadian Surety Bonding - a professional designation program for those embarking on a career in the surety industry.
• P.A.C.C.

Products and services

• A.C.S.B. Designation Program The Associateship of Canadian Surety Bonding (A.C.S.B.) is a professional designation program providing theoretical and practical understanding of surety bonds and the suretyship process through four core courses (SAC 101 Principles of Suretyship, SAC 102 Contract Surety, SAC 103 Construction & Surety Law) and optional electives, delivered via D2L/Brightspace online learning platform to individuals pursuing a career in the surety industry.
• Programme des Associés en Cautionnement Canadien (P.A.C.C.) The P.A.C.C. is the French-language version of the professional designation program adapted for Quebec's civil law framework, offering the same core curriculum as A.C.S.B. (ACC 101 Principes de cautionnement, ACC 102 Cautionnement de contrat, ACC 103 Droit de la construction et du cautionnement) to individuals pursuing a career in the Quebec surety industry.
• Member Directory An online publicly accessible directory of 267 surety brokers and 361 office locations searchable by city, province, and specialization (commercial surety, contract surety), used by construction industry stakeholders to locate surety brokers and insurance professionals across Canada.
• CBSA/CARM RPP Bonds Resource Resource and educational content explaining how Canadian importers can satisfy the CBSA CARM Release Prior to Payment (RPP) customs bond requirements to obtain release of goods before final payment of duties and taxes under the new Assessment and Revenue Management system.

Quantifiable outcome

• Non-bonded construction enterprises are 10 times more likely to become insolvent than bonded companies
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2025CANCEA conducted a comprehensive economic study on the economic and social value of surety bonds in Canada, published in May 2025. The study analyzed data from seven major surety writers over 20+ years and measured the impact of surety bonding on GDP, employment, and government fiscal returns.
• D2L/BrightspacecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2022D2L/Brightspace is the online learning management system used by SAC to deliver its A.C.S.B. and P.A.C.C. designation programs in-house since Fall 2022.
• Ontario Ministry of the Attorney GeneralcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2018SAC worked closely with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General from January to April 2018 to develop the prescribed bond forms (Form 5, Form 31, Form 32) required under the Construction Act of Ontario. The cabinet approved these forms on April 25, 2018.
• Aviva CanadacoreOthersOne of seven primary surety writers that participated in the CANCEA 2025 economic study, providing premium and loss data for analysis.
• Liberty MutualcoreOthersOne of seven primary surety writers that participated in the CANCEA 2025 economic study, providing premium and loss data for analysis.
• Intact SuretycoreOthersOne of seven primary surety writers that participated in the CANCEA 2025 economic study, providing premium and loss data for analysis.
• Travelers CanadacoreOthersOne of seven primary surety writers that participated in the CANCEA 2025 economic study, providing premium and loss data for analysis.
• Trisura GuaranteecoreOthersOne of seven primary surety writers that participated in the CANCEA 2025 economic study, providing premium and loss data for analysis.
• Western SuretycoreOthersOne of seven primary surety writers that participated in the CANCEA 2025 economic study, providing premium and loss data for analysis.
• Zurich CanadacoreOthersOne of seven primary surety writers that participated in the CANCEA 2025 economic study, providing premium and loss data for analysis.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Canadian Construction Association (CCA): National trade body representing Canada's construction industry, the principal buyer-side stakeholder for surety bonds. CCA is comparable as an adjacent industry association whose members rely on surety bonds, intersecting with SAC's constituency but serving the demand side rather than the supply side.

Broad incumbents

• Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC): National trade association for Canada's private property and casualty insurance industry, overlapping with SAC's insurer members. IBC addresses broader P&C industry issues (auto, property, liability) where SAC focuses specifically on surety, making IBC a broader-incumbent peer.
• Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA): National Canadian trade association for life and health insurers, structurally comparable to SAC as another Canadian insurance trade body. Different product line (life/health vs. surety) but similar governance, funding model (member dues), and federal/provincial advocacy role.

Others

• International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS): Global body setting insurance supervisory standards, indirectly relevant to SAC because its members' regulatory environment is shaped by IAIS frameworks. Not a direct competitor but an ecosystem participant whose standards influence SAC's members.

Regional players

• Surety Association of South Africa: South African surety industry trade association, comparable in mandate (industry representation, professional development) but operating in a different geography. Useful international benchmark for SAC's advocacy and educational model in another common-law jurisdiction.
• Surety Association of Japan: Japanese surety industry trade association serving as the national industry voice in Japan. Comparable internationally to SAC in mandate and structure but operating in a distinct legal and commercial environment.

Direct peers

• National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP): US-based association representing surety bond producers/brokers, comparable to SAC in its focus on broker education, professional designation, and industry advocacy. NASBP's bond producer-focused model parallels SAC's broker directory and A.C.S.B./P.A.C.C. designation programs.
• Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA): National US trade association for the surety and fidelity industry, directly analogous to SAC in mandate (industry representation, professional development, advocacy) and member base (surety writers, brokers, reinsurers). SFAA's structure, advocacy role, and educational offerings are the closest international mirror to SAC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZH6AemWinbUdtJ67v787fg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/suretycanada
• Instagraminstagram.com/SuretyCanada
• Xx.com/SuretyCanada

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Surety Association Of Canada