Annual meeting

The Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders of Great-West Lifeco was held on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. ET | 10:30 a.m. CT.

May 7, 2026

Annual Meetings

JEFF ORR: Good morning. Welcome everyone.

I am Jeff Orr, Chair of the Boards of Great-West Lifeco and Canada Life, and I'm pleased to welcome everyone here to the annual meeting.

Mesdames et Messieurs, bienvenue à la réunion des assemblées annuelles de Great-West Lifeco et de Canada Vie. Je suis ravi que de vous joindre à nous ici ce matin, pour nos assemblées annuelles.

The Manitoba offices of both Great West and Canada Life are located in Winnipeg on the original lands of the Anishinaabek, Ininiwak, Anisininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Dene and Inuit people. And our offices are also located on the national homeland of the Red River Metis, in the heart of Treaty One territory.

As a founding signatory of the Winnipeg Indigenous Accord, we remain committed to building relationships and partnerships with Canada's First Peoples, and we're focused on taking steps forward in the spirit of truth and reconciliation, guided by shared principles of respect, equality and collaboration.

Thank you for joining us this morning, whether you're here in person or virtually.

With me today are David Harney, president and Chief Executive Officer, and Gord Peters, Vice-President, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

Also here today are members of our Boards and our senior management team.

And I'm delighted to see so many faces as well from previous leadership and management teams who have joined us today.

Paul Mahon is here and Ray McFeetors, where is Ray, previous CEOs. Ray, thank you for joining us. And Bill Lovatt.

So we're holding our Annual Meeting in hybrid formats. So that provides our shareholders and policyholders and proxyholders the flexibility to participate online or in person. And we've taken steps so you can participate and hopefully the experience is comparable. You can vote and ask questions and provide direct feedback whether you're here or you're online.

And because of the online function, it takes sometimes a little bit more time for certain points to go through and for the voting to go through. Thanks for your patience in advance, as we'll have a few moments of waiting.

Since Canada Life is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, we're holding the meetings concurrently.

And I now call the meeting to order.

Gord is going to act as Secretary of the meetings, and Kyle Gould, a representative of Computershare Investor Services, will act as Scrutineer.

The Scrutineer has confirmed that the required quorums of shareholders and policyholders are represented at these meetings.

The notices were sent out to shareholders and policyholders on March 12th, for shareholders of record of March 12th, 2026. I declare the meetings duly constituted for the transaction of business.

Gord, would you address the meeting and go through the procedures for the voting and the process today?

GORD PETERS: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

For those attending online, the polls will open shortly for voting on all items of business at the Great West meeting. You may vote online during the meeting by clicking on the voting icon at the top of your screen and clicking on the Your Choice displayed on screen. For those attending in person, the voting at today's meeting will be conducted by ballot.

Shareholders, policyholders and proxyholders here in person who have not already voted by proxy have been given ballots in the following colors: white for Great West and blue for Canada Life. To vote by ballot, place an X in the appropriate box and ensure that you both print and sign your name clearly and provide the additional information where required.

During each item of business, we will pause to respond to relevant questions we have received either in person or through the online platform.

For those attending in person, if you wish to ask a question, please raise your hand at the appropriate time and an usher will provide you with a wireless microphone, at which point you will be asked to stand while asking your question, if you're able to do so.

Before asking your question, please give your full name and identify whether you are a Great West shareholder, a Canada Life policyholder, or a proxyholder.

For those attending online, you are able to ask questions through the Lumi platform. To do so, click on the messaging icon at the top of your screen, enter your phone number and the subject of your question, and then click the Send button.

If your question relates to a specific item of business to be considered today, please clearly indicate which item your question relates to so that we can ensure that it is addressed at the appropriate time. The Lumi platform will then dial you into the meeting and at that point, to prevent any delay or feedback, please mute your computer and listen to the meeting only on your phone. When called upon to ask your question, you will be unmuted and you may address the meeting. Please then provide your full name and state whether you're a shareholder, policyholder, or proxyholder.

Once discussion has concluded on all items of Great West business, we will declare voting closed for that meeting. We will then attend to the Canada Life meeting, at which point the online polls will open for voting on all items of Canada Life business.

After voting ends, any in person ballots will be collected and the results will be tabulated by our scrutineer.

We will then have a general question and answer session, following which I will announce the preliminary voting results.

If your question relates to a personal matter, or if we're unable to answer your question during the meeting, we invite you to proceed to the registration desk after the meeting where a Client Service representative is available to meet with you.

If you have asked your question through the online platform, a company representative will contact you after the meeting.

We will do our best to respond to all questions during the meeting.

The remarks you hear today may include forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ. Also, some of the matters discussed today may include references to non IFRS financial measures. Cautionary statements regarding these matters can be found in our Annual Reports, which are available on our websites.

Mr. Chair, that concludes my comments

JEFF ORR: That just about does it for the time today, so I’d like to invite you all to refreshments outside.

Thank you, Gord.

I declare the polls open on all items of business for the Great West meeting.

We'll now move to our first item of business. The submission of the financial statements and reports and the Annual Reports of both companies were mailed to shareholders and policyholders who requested them. They contain the financial statements and the audited reports. They can also be accessed on our websites.

Next item of business is a consideration of the resolution to amend Great West’s Articles to increase the number of directors from 19 to 20. Text of the proposed resolution is set forth in the Management Proxy Circular.

Gord, would you please present the motion?

GORD PETERS: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the articles of the Corporation be amended to increase the number of directors from 19 to 20, and that the Corporate Secretary be authorized to execute and deliver all documents and to do all other acts as may be necessary or advisable to give effect to this resolution.

JEFF ORR: Thank you, Gord.

We're taking this step because we've got one additional director coming on this year, Sally Dewar.

Sally Dewar brings over 3 decades of experience across financial services, almost all of it in Europe where the company, of course, has important operations.

She has experience both on the regulatory side as well as in board environments, including being the Managing Director of the UK Financial Services Authority during the financial crisis and beyond.

The Board believes that she will bring great experience and as a result, we're moving the Board to 20 people.

And with that as well, women will represent 35% of the directors on the board with Sally joining the Board. We are very pleased about
that.

Are there any questions or comments from anyone attending today?

Gord, any questions online?

GORD PETERS: Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, there are not.

JEFF ORR: OK, then we'll proceed to a vote.

The Board of Directors and Management are recommending voting for the amendment to Great West articles.

The motion must be approved by at least 2/3 of the vote cast and only Great West common shareholders or first preferred shareholders or their proxyholders may vote.

I should note that while Canada Life policyholders who are attending online will see voting options on their screen, only votes from Great West shareholders or their proxyholders will be counted.

If you've not already done so, please vote now.

For those attending online, please select a voting option on the voting panel displayed on your screen. And for those who are here in person, please use your Great West ballots and vote by placing an X in the appropriate box in the section entitled Amend the Articles of the Corporation. You can vote for or against.

And Gord, you'll advise me how long we should wait?

GORD PETERS: You should proceed.

JEFF ORR: That was quicker than your first section, by the way.

The next item business is the election Great West Directors.

Before we vote on the matter, I would really like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow directors for the great dedication and hard work that you provide to the company and to our subsidiaries. Many of you are on subsidiary boards and you're a big part obviously of the success of the business.

This year, the following individuals identified in the Great West Life Management Proxy circular will be nominated for directors.

Michael Amend, Deb Barrett, Robin Bienfait, Heather Conway, Marcel Coutu, André Desmarais, Paul Desmarais, Jr., Sally Dewar, Gary Doer, Claude Généreux, David Harney, Jake Lawrence, Paula Madoff, Susan MacArthur, Jeffrey Orr, James O'Sullivan, Tim Ryan, Dhvani Shah, Siim Vanaselja and Brian Walsh.

Gord, would you please present the related motion?

GORD PETERS: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I nominate for election as directors of Great-West Lifeco Inc., the individuals listed in Great West’s Management Proxy Circular, each for a term ending at the close of the next annual meeting.

JEFF ORR: Thank you.

Does anyone in the room have a question on the election of Great West Directors?

Any questions online that we've received, Gord?

GORD PETERS: There are not.

JEFF ORR: OK, we'll proceed to a vote.

Board and management are recommending voting for the director nominees.

If you've not already done so, please vote now. I should note again that if you are online and are a Canada Life policyholder, while you are going to see an opportunity in your screen to vote, you actually cannot vote on this matter. Only votes from Great West shareholders and their proxyholders will be counted. You can vote for or against the election of each nominee by selecting the appropriate boxes on your ballot or on your screen. For those with paper ballots, you may vote for or against nominees by placing an X in the appropriate box above the dotted line.

And I'm told you should ignore the column entitled Distribution of votes.

I'll just wait a moment here.

GORD PETERS: You can proceed.

JEFF ORR: Thank you.

The next item on business is the appointment of Great West Auditors.

It's proposed that the current auditor, Deloitte LLP, be reappointed.

Gord, would you please present the motion?

GORD PETERS: Mr. Chair, I move that Deloitte LLP be appointed auditor of Great-West Lifeco Inc. for the 2026 financial year, to hold office until the close of the next annual meeting, its remuneration to be fixed by the Board of Directors.

JEFF ORR: Thank you.

Are there any questions on this matter in the room?

Any questions online, Gord?

GORD PETERS: We do have one question.

I would ask that Lumi please connect the caller. Prior to asking your question, kindly state your name and indicate whether you are a shareholder or a proxyholder.

You may proceed.

JEFF CARLSON: Hello. Can you hear me?

JEFF ORR: Yes, we can.

JEFF CARLSON: Good. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to address the meeting.

My name is Jeff Carlson and I'm a shareholder.

As a shareholder, I strongly oppose Great West's proposed special resolution to increase the number of directors from 19 to 20.

20 directors? Even 19 directors is too many.

All of your peer insurance companies have smaller boards, limited to 14 members at most.

And they can govern their companies very well.

Irrespective of this fact, Great West is a life insurance company. It's not a technical or manufacturing operation where there are far more complex moving parts, so to speak.

And very few technical organizations have greater than 12 directors. And they have excellent governance and oversight.

In this regard, I see Great West’s proposal to increase the size of its board as irresponsible and wasteful. And I urge shareholders to vote against this special resolution.

JEFF ORR: Thank you, Mr. Carlson, for your comments and I understand your views.

I've actually had a number of shareholders over the years, as you can imagine, express those views, as there have been governance papers out on what the ideal size of a board is.

I would tell you that our Board talks about this matter a lot and we are very, very comfortable with the number and the size of the Board.

Notwithstanding your comparison to technology companies, we actually run a fairly complex organization in different countries.

And our governance model has many of our directors not only act on the board of Great-West Lifeco and Canada Life, but they go on to the US board.

Some directors go on the European boards, and they go on various committees.

And bringing all those directors back together to the Great West board brings a far greater connectivity with the businesses that are going on.

And at the same time we review the Boards’ effectiveness every year. We went through it yesterday actually.

There's overwhelming sense on the Board that it's effective, and that notwithstanding the size, we get effective discussion on issues.

So I appreciate your views. You're not the only one who have expressed it.

We talked about it a lot and very comfortable with the recommendations that we've made in with the size of the Board at this time.

Thank you for your comments, Mr. Carlson. That matter was a couple of items ago. The current item here is on the auditors one, but I appreciate your input.

Gord, any other comments?

GORD PETERS: Well, perhaps just for the benefit of the next person, they posed a question asking whether it was something better addressed at the general Q&A session. And the answer to that is yes, it is. So we'll ensure they get to ask that question
later.

JEFF ORR: That's another question coming up.

GORD PETERS: That's another question coming up.

JEFF ORR: Thank you. OK.

If there are no further questions then on the auditors, I would say we should move to a vote.

The Board and management are recommending that we vote for the appointment of Deloitte LLP as auditor, and the motion to be approved needs a majority. You can vote for or withhold by selecting the appropriate box on your ballot or on your screen.

And we'll give that a moment.

The next order of business is the consideration of an advisory vote on Great West's approach to executive compensation. The text is in the Management Proxy Circular.

Gord, would you please present the motion?

GORD PETERS: Mr. Chair, move that on an advisory basis and not to diminish the role and responsibilities of the Board, the shareholders accept the approach to executive compensation disclosed in Great West's Management Proxy Circular.

JEFF ORR: Thank you.

Like most companies our success depends on the strength and the performance of our people.

And we have an executive compensation structure and program that is designed to support our strategic priorities and to executive rewards to long term performance.

And we are very happy with the structure that we have.

We believe it aligns our executives with the interests of our stakeholders.

So we're asking that you vote on our approach to executive compensation.

It's an advisory vote. It is not a binding vote, but the Human Resources Committee would obviously take results into account as they discuss our compensation structures in the future.

Anyone in the room have questions on this matter?

Gord, any questions online?

GORD PETERS: There are not.

JEFF ORR: Thank you.

So we're going to proceed to a vote. The Board and the management are recommending you vote for our approach. You may vote for or against by selecting the appropriate box.

And we'll again, we'll give it a minute for people to vote.

That's good.

The next order of business is the consideration of a resolution to approve the adoption of a performance restricted share unit plan. The text is in the Management Proxy Circular.

And would you again go ahead present the motion?

GORD PETERS: Mr. Chair, I move that the adoption of a performance restricted share unit plan, approved by the Great West Board on February 11th, 2026 and described in Great West’s Management Proxy Circular, be approved.

JEFF ORR: Any questions in the room?

Anything online?

GORD PETERS: There are none.

JEFF ORR: So we'll proceed to vote on the matter and again, management and the Board are recommending for. And it must be approved by a majority of the votes.

In this case, you may vote for or against the plan by selecting the appropriate box in your ballot or on your screen.

The polls on Great West matters are going to close shortly.

So if you've not voted on all Great West matters, please do so now.

I declare the voting closed on all Great West matters.

And the polls are now open for business for the Canada Life meeting.

The first item of business for the Canada Life meeting is the election of Canada Life Policyholders’ Directors.

This year, 9 individuals will be elected as Canada Life Policyholders’ Directors.

The following individuals will be nominated: Michael Amend, Deb Barrett, Robin Bienfait, Heather Conway, Sally Dewar, Gary Doer, Susan McCarthy, Dhvani Shah and Siim Vanaselja.

Gord, would you please present the motion?

GORD PETERS: Thank you. Mr. Chair, I nominate for election as Policyholders’ Directors of Canada Life the 9 individuals listed as Policyholders’ Directors nominees in Canada Life's Management Proxy Circular, each for a term ending at the close of the next annual meeting.

JEFF ORR: OK.

Any, any questions on this in the room?

Or online.

GORD PETERS: There are none.

JEFF ORR: We'll proceed to a vote.

Again, management and the Board are recommending that you vote for the nominees, and only Canada Life policyholders or proxy holders are entitled to vote.

So now it's the Great West shareholders online turn to have an option put in front of them that they can't exercise, and it's for Canada Life policyholders only.

You may vote for or withhold from voting for the nominees by selecting the appropriate boxes.

For those with paper ballots, you may vote or withhold from voting for all nine nominees by placing an X in the appropriate box.

Or you may withhold for each nominee by placing an X in the appropriate box below the dotted line.

As this is for the policyholder directors only, I'll note that Great-West Lifeco, majority shareholder of Canada Life, votes for the shareholders’ directors. Yesterday Great West signed a resolution electing the shareholders’ directors and the individuals identified in the Canada Life Management Proxy Circular.

So the next order of business is the appointment of Canada Life's auditors.

It is proposed that the current auditor, Deloitte LLP, be reappointed.

And Gord, would you make the motion?

GORD PETERS: Mr. Chair, I move that Deloitte LLP be appointed auditor of the Canada Life Assurance Company for the 2026 financial year, to hold office until the close of the next annual meeting, its remuneration to be fixed by the Board of Directors.

JEFF ORR: Thank you, Gord, any questions on the matter?

Or online?

GORD PETERS: There are none

JEFF ORR: We'll proceed to a vote. The Board and the management are recommending for.

You may vote for him or withhold from voting for the auditor.

Whether you're online or here, and I'll give a minute for that to happen.

The Canada Life Board polls will close shortly, so if you have not voted, please do so now.

While you're doing it, for those who have paper ballots, please pass your ballots to the Computershare representative here in the room who will collect them for their tabulation.

You've got them all.

Thank you very much.

I declare the voting for Canada Life matters is now closed.

So that concludes the formal part of the business.

And next on our agenda is we're going to hear from David Harney, President and CEO as of July 1st of last year.

David, not surprisingly, has attacked his role with energy and enthusiasm and vigor.

And David, we're pleased to receive you up here, the podium is yours.

DAVID HARNEY: Thank you, Jeff, and thank you to our Board for your leadership and continued guidance.

I also would like to welcome everybody joining us today.

Our shareholders, policyholders, advisors, employees, former employees, retirees and partners, thank you for taking the time to be part of our annual meetings.

And I'd also like to say that we are delighted to hold this event again here in Winnipeg, which is our best and favorite venue for the annual meetings.

So a special call out and thanks to the team here who have done such a great job preparing for today.

I am less than a year in the role as group CEO, which makes me more conscious of the history of the two organisations.

Great West is 135 years old, while Canada Life is approaching 180 years.

We are built on a legacy of trust, resilience and a deep sense of responsibility.

Through wars, economic cycles, demographic change, and now rapid technological transformation, this organization has endured because it has remained focused on what matters most, building stronger, financially secure futures.

As I said, I complete my first year as CEO on the 1st of July.

I want to express my sincere thanks to the Board for its confidence and support.

To our leadership team for their partnership.

And to our employees around the world who deliver for our customers every day.

I'm equally grateful to our advisors, brokers and institutional partners, and to you, our shareholders, for your continued trust.

The environment our customers are navigating today is hanging quickly and becoming more complex.

People are living longer. That brings opportunity, but also uncertainty.

Retirement decisions are more interconnected than ever before, yet the advice gap continues to widen.

Customers increasingly expect personalized, digitally-enabled experiences while still valuing trusted guidance from organisations that will be there for the long term.

At the same time, corporate and institutional clients are looking for partners with scale, capital strength and deep risk management expertise.

This is where Great West is particularly well positioned.

We have leading positions across all our core markets, supported by strong well established brands and growth across each segment.

Our diversification is not accidental, it is strategic.

It provides resilience, insight and the ability to invest consistently through cycles.

We are in the right markets with the right geographies and the right capabilities, not just to support customers today, but to serve them over decades.

Our strategy is clear and consistent. We are focused on disciplined growth and capital efficiency.

We build on leadership positions in our core franchises while expanding thoughtfully into adjacent areas where customer demand is strong and returns are attractive.

We continue to invest in our brand, our people, our capabilities and our technology to ensure we remain competitive and relevant over the long term.

What distinguishes Great West is not just scale, it is how we deploy capital, how we manage risk, and how we align long term value creation with customer outcomes.

That discipline is reflected in the quality and scale of our usinesses.

Today, we serve 40 million clients globally with more than $3 trillion in total client assets, including over $1 trillion in assets under management or advisement, placing us among the leading retirement and wealth providers worldwide.

Strong positioning only matters when it is matched by discipline execution.

That is why we are focused on 4 clear execution priorities.

First: Customer first always.

Every decision we make begins with an understanding of our customer needs.

Our goal is to simplify complexity, build confidence and deliver long-term value.

During the year, we continue to expand Empower’s workplace offering, launching private market partnerships, expanding consumer directed health options and broadening our stock plan administration capabilities.

Second: A digitally driven future leveraging AI.

We are using technology and increasingly AI, to enable better experiences, smarter operations, and more personable and scalable advice.

Across the organization, we are already seeing tangible benefits, faster response times, improved accuracy and better outcomes for
customers and advisors.

These tools are not replacing human judgment, they are amplifying it, allowing our people to focus on higher value, more meaningful
interactions.

When applied thoughtfully, technology can make experiences not only more efficient, but also warmer, more personal, and more human.

During the year, we accelerated AI adoption across the enterprise, launching CaLi in Canada to better support workplace plan members, transforming Irish life claims process through Cara, and using generative AI at Empower’s contact centers to elevate service quality.

Third: Accelerating operational excellence.

We continue to simplify, modernize and streamline how we operate, improving speed, consistency and cost efficiency across the organization.

We are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to build the technology and data foundations required to leverage AI.

We realized significant capital benefits through balance sheet optimization and portfolio simplification and we sharpen the focus of our reinsurance business towards areas with stronger risk adjusted returns.

And fourth: enabling growth.

We are firmly in growth mode in each of our four business segments.

That means supporting our employees, advisors, partners and businesses with the tools, capital and capabilities they need to compete and win in attractive growth markets.

During the year, we strengthened our wealth platforms across markets.

In the United States, Empower Wealth surpassed 100 billion U.S. dollars of client assets.

In Canada, we completed the acquisition of De Thomas Wealth and continued dealer integrations.

In Europe, we achieved record retail flows.

Together, these 4 execution priorities ensure our strategy translates into results.

These results were clearly demonstrated.

In 2025, we delivered record base earnings of $5.03 per share, an increase of 12% compared to 2024.

This strong performance supported by our industry-leading shareholder dividend, which we increased by 10% during the year.

Our balance sheet remains strong, supporting long term value creation while providing flexibility and resilience.

The capital strength allowed us to continue share buybacks, grow our dividend and invest meaningfully in future growth.

It also gave us the confidence at Investor Day 2025 to raise our medium term financial objectives, reflecting both performance momentum and conviction in our strategy.

At the same time, we continued disciplined portfolio repositioning, becoming more focused, more capital efficient and better aligned with where we see durable growth opportunities.

Great West delivered very strong first quarter results in 2026, reflecting our disciplined execution and broad based momentum across our businesses.

Base earnings increased 20% year over year with double digit growth across all business segments, including 23% constant currency growth at Empower.

Strong underlying business performance combined with significant share repurchases drove 23% base EPS growth and for the first time, we achieved a base return on equity exceeding 19%.

Our robust cash generation and balance sheet continue to support significant financial flexibility as we focus on long-term value
creation.

None of this is possible without our people.

Leadership remains one of Great West's most important competitive advantage.

I am proud of the depth, continuity and experience of our leadership team, including Fabrice Morin in Canada, Ed Murphy at Empower, Lindsey Rix-Broom in Europe, Jeff Poulin in Reinsurance, John Nielsen as CFO, John Melvin as CIO, Sharon Geraghty as General Counsel, Dervla Tomlin as Chief Risk Officer, and Teresa Kilmartin as Chief Human Resources Officer.

This team brings deep experience, strong values, and a shared commitment to execution.

Just as importantly, they foster a culture that empowers colleagues to do their best work, innovate responsibly, and remain anchored to our purpose.

Talent and the culture that sustains it is fundamental to delivering for both customers and shareholders.

Our responsibility extends beyond financial performance.

Over the past 10 years, Great West and our operating companies have contributed more than $170 million to communities around the world.

In 2025 alone, this included a $2,000,000 contribution to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation reflecting our ongoing commitment to reconciliation and inclusion.

Our community investments focus on community revitalization, financial security for underserved populations, and support for arts and education.

This work reinforces our purpose.

Strong communities are essential to the long term social and economic resilience and to the well-being of our customers.

We are so proud that these endeavours are led by our employees with a passion and enthusiasm for making a difference in the communities they serve.

As we look forward, we see significant opportunity across retirement, wealth insurance and reinsurance.

We will continue to deepen client relationships through trusted advice, innovation, and better experiences.

We will remain disciplined in capital allocation focused on customer centered growth and committed to operational excellence.

Above all, I am confident in our people, their ability to adapt, to execute and to deliver long term value while strengthening the communities we serve.

Before I close, I would like to pay tribute to Mr. Jeffrey Orr.

Power Corporation recently announced that Mr. James O'Sullivan will be taking over as its CEO this summer and that Jeff will take on the role of Vice Chair.

Subject to the results at today's meeting, Jeff will continue to serve as our Board Chair until the 1st of July and James will then assume that role.

Jeff has served as Chair of the Boards of Great West and Canada Life since 2013 and served as the Chair of our former Executive Committee from 2008.

Jeff's leadership has been instrumental in shaping the organization we are today.

Jeff is widely and rightly recognised as a leader of great intellect and integrity, and the organization he has helped shape has delivered superlative returns for our shareholders and value for our customers.

Just as important, though, Jeff is a leader who leads by example.

He teaches calmness and thoughtfulness in decision making that is grounded on close attention to detail and the facts.

This unwavering characteristic has served as well in both adversity and opportunity and will be an enduring legacy.

We thank Jeff for all he has helped us achieve during his tenure and are grateful that he will continue to serve on our board and share the benefit of his counsel and experience.

Thank you.

And I would also like to welcome James as incoming Chair of the Board.

James has served as a director of Great West for several years and is a senior leader within Power Corporation Group since 2020.

Following Jeff is no easy task, but we've all gotten to know James as a director and seen his exceptional leadership of our sister company, IGM.

We are very excited and very confident about this succession and we look forward, James to working with you.

In closing, I want to thank our customers, our advisors, our employees, our shareholders and our policyholders.

Your trust matters. We take seriously our responsibility to govern well, execute with discipline and think long term.

I am optimistic about 2026 and beyond and about Great West's ability to continue building stronger, more financially secure futures.

Thank you.

JEFF ORR: Thank you, David.

I thought parts of your presentation were brilliant.

Now. We're going to get to question period in a little while, and Paul Mahon has threatened to come with some very difficult questions. So I just want to point out that last year the tribute to Paul, listening to David's tribute to me, we didn't get all the way through it, but it is on the website and you should read it. It's fantastic. It talks about all of Paul's great qualities. It's been hit on I think at least three times, Paul. Paul, Anne and I, I think, read it. But you did it twice, right? Yeah. OK. Great, thank you.

Just a word about David's start here.

Not surprisingly, David is off to an amazing start.

I'm looking at Paul and remember back when we were looking at the leadership change at Irish Life for CEO, and we said this guy David Harney's got a lot of potential.

Wow, I remember those discussions.

And David, to say that you fulfilled them is an understatement, it has been fantastic.

David's got huge industry knowledge, been like 3 1/2 decades in the business.

He knows the business.

He is enthusiastic, he's got energy, he's driven, he is client focused beyond belief, which is fantastic.

He's an actuary, he's got the numbers, but he's mostly into the business and he lets his people do their thing without kind of doing the business for them.

He's got it all.

I said that at the Annual Meeting last year as we talked about the announcement, and really great to see the start.

And David is the first to give credit to the fact that you know, what he's running in the momentum we're experiencing is from a lot of people over a lot of years, so he is also very humble in that sense.

A word about James as well.

James is going to be a great Chair.

He's also going to be a great CEO of Power.

He's got 30 years of experience across many sectors of the financial services industry before joining six years ago as the CEO of IGM.

He's done a great job at IGM.

He's thoughtful, he's smart, he is strategic. He's a listener.

He lets his people run just like David, same quality, but he does it within guidelines and he's not afraid to take decisive action beyond people on strategy, on capital.

He’s got it all and I think you're going to really enjoy working with him.

He’s had two years already on the Great West Board, the Canada Life Board, the Empower Board.

So he's no stranger to the Great West people, but he is going to do a fantastic job and, really pleased on where we're headed here.

James. Welcome.

So just before moving to the question period, I'll take just a minute or two if you'll pardon me, to just talk a little bit about Great West.

It has actually been over 40 years that Great West has been an important part of my life.

I'm going to go back and I'm going to do my history in 30 seconds.

I won't bore you to tears, but as a 25-year-old, as a young associate at Nesbitt Thompson, the junior bag carrier on the Power Corp team who was Nesbitt's largest, or always second largest client right up there.

I was asked in 1984 to come out in the winter of 1984 to come and write the prospectus for Power Financial.

We were launching it as a public company, as a pure play financial, and there was no description of Great West in the prospectus or for Investors Group, which was down at 280 Broadway here.

So I came out, bags in hand, for a couple of weeks and sat down with Kevin Kavanagh and John Green and Orest Dackow and the finance team and wrote and, actually, this is how boring my life can be, I actually relooked at it last night as the Habs were losing the hockey game.

I asked to have it, the 1984 prospectus at 16 pages describing what Great West does.

Then it goes on to IG.

So I started back then and can continue it as in my 20 years at Nesbitt Burns being close to Great West and to Power.

In ‘01, I came here to Investors Group, in ‘05, went to Power Financial.

I was on the Board here in ‘02 and from ‘05 on, this is how much, you know, how I, I literally have thought about Great West. I think every day of my life for the last 20 years, even on Christmas and whatnot, you know, you get a 5-minute break and your mind goes to business. And Great West is 2/3 of Power Corp.

Power Corp doesn't succeed without Great West succeeding.

So without going through all the deals and everything, there's only the overwhelming memory you keep is not the transactions or the business, it's the people.

It's about the people.

And that's why I'm so pleased that so many are here, former leaders are here today, current leadership teams, boards of directors, past and
current.

The quality of the people and the passion and the integrity and the drive and the long-term vision was which starts with Andre and Paul Desmarais anchoring the whole thing with their long-term vision and their values.

It has been such an honor and a pleasure to be part of this.

It has just been a fantastic honor and a pleasure and I'm extremely grateful to have the opportunity to have done this, it's very meaningful to me.

And I want to say David, before I turn it over to questions, that as we look forward, this is the deepest management team and the best
management team we've had ever.

And that's not a dis for the previous management team, it's a credit to what's been built.

And you look at the momentum of the strategic positions.

I could not be more optimistic about the future of Great West.

We'll have our ups and downs, there'll be challenges, markets, etc., but we continue to execute like this is going to be fantastic.

So with that, thank you for indulging me there and I will then move on to question period.

Paul, I must have dissuaded you from asking a tough question after that. I open the meeting to questions.

Any questions. Here in the room, shareholders, policyholders, proxyholders?

If you do have a question, please provide your name and state whether you are a shareholder or a policyholder or a proxyholder.

We're closing the questions now.

ANDRé DESMARAIS: I don't know whether it's a question or comment.

But I would like to say, Mr. Chairman, that I am a shareholder of Great West.

I'm a shareholder also through Power Corporation and I'm a quite involved policyholder.

I have a lot of policies here and it's a great company and very proud of that.

But I think this was an exceptional day and #1, because it is rare that you have an occasion where you get so many people that have been so important in creating the company that has been created here over the years.

And you know, I, I don't want to single them all out individually, I'd rather just speak of Ray McFeetors and Paul Mahon, and the teams that they ran with were just incredible.

And they laid the foundations of what has made all of this possible.

And without wanting to put too much pressure on Mr. Harney and Mr. O’Sullivan, which of course it's our job to do, they are going to have big shoes to fill – and I have no doubt that they will fill them.

So I think that all shareholders should stand and applaud the great management teams that we've had in the past here and how lucky we are to have been able to attract such fabulous people, including yourself, Mr. Orr.

So cheers.

JEFF ORR: Thank you, André.

That was. That was very well said.

Thank you.