Before proceeding to trace the origin, growth, and present position of Life Assurance in Canada, it will be necessary to give some idea of the size, population, and vital statistics of the Dominion in order to better appreciate the developments of the past and the possibilities of the future.

The Dominion of Canada consists of the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec (formerly Upper and Lower Canada), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Manitoba, and the North-west Territories. The area of the whole Dominion is about 3,456,383 square miles, including the water surface. From west to east it is about 3500 miles, and from north to south 1400 miles. The Island of Newfoundland, although included in British North America, does not yet form part of the Dominion; while Alaska belongs to the United States, and Labrador is under the control of Newfoundland. The area of Europe is about 3,661,360 square miles, and of Great Britain and Ireland 120,849 square miles, so that Canada is only about 200,000 square miles smaller than all Europe, while it is nearly twenty nine times as large as the whole United Kingdom. It is also 400,000 square miles larger than the United States, omitting Alaska.