Message from Zahid Salman, President and CEO
When GreenShield grows, our impact expands and we become an even stronger force for good.
As Canada’s only national non-profit health and benefits company, we don’t report to shareholders with short-term profit-driven motives. We focus on building a healthier, more equitable future for Canadians through our service capabilities, and by reinvesting at least 15% of our annual earnings in social impact. Our success is measured by the lives we impact, the care we expand, and the barriers we break down. And, we are accountable primarily to you — Canadians — the people we exist to support.
Fellow Canadians,
GreenShield’s journey began nearly 70 years ago in a small pharmacy in Windsor, Ontario owned by our founder William Wilkinson. There, he met a young mother with two prescriptions: one for herself and one for her daughter. She could only afford one and sacrificed her own health to fill her daughter's prescription. This poignant moment made him realize there had to be “A Better Way.” Motivated by this event, Wilkinson launched North America’s first prepaid drug plan, and GreenShield was born.
From the very beginning, GreenShield was established as a non-profit social enterprise, committed to reinvesting excess earnings to improve healthcare, promote health equity, and ensure health accessibility for all Canadians. This founding principle has always guided us and continues to shape our unwavering commitment to Better Health for All.
As a non-profit without shareholders that operates exclusively in Canada, we’re uniquely positioned to focus on the needs of Canadians and the communities we serve. Without the constraints of short-term profit motives, we have the freedom to challenge outdated models and demonstrate that business growth and social good can thrive together. This allows us to prioritize long-term impact and create lasting change for a healthier, more equitable future.
Our approach is rooted in the realization that if conventional models could resolve healthcare inequities, progress would already be evident. If profit-driven solutions were capable of dismantling systemic barriers, the gaps would have been bridged by now. And, if the current Canadian healthcare system were sufficiently effective, we wouldn't find ourselves here, striving to demonstrate that a patient-first model is not merely an ideal — it is a reality in the making.
Nearly seven decades since that pivotal moment in his Windsor pharmacy, Wilkinson’s innovative “Better Way" mindset remains a fundamental part of our ethos. We continue to challenge the status quo, driving innovation through both our business and social impact priorities. This relentless pursuit of excellence empowers us to break barriers and redefine the future of health and benefits, advancing our mission of Better Health for All.
Delivering on our mission of Better Health for All
GreenShield has transformed the Canadian health and benefits experience with our integrated payer-provider model that we were first to introduce to the market. As a ‘payer,’ we provide insurance, administer benefits, and pay claims, while as a ‘provider,’ we offer a full suite of healthcare services covered by benefit plans, including mental health, pharmacy, telemedicine, and chronic disease management. By integrating coverage and care, we have created a seamless, customer-centric experience that sets a new standard in health and benefits.
As a purpose-driven company, our mission of Better Health for All extends to democratizing care for underserved Canadians. We leverage our payer-provider capabilities and financial capacity to help those who need it most. By combining our business and social impact, we are building a healthier, more equitable future.
Better Health: expanding access to care for millions of benefit plan members
Today’s digital-first Canadians expect easy access, convenience, seamless integration, and a user-focused experience that delivers improved outcomes. Health and benefits are no exception. Our revolutionary technology platform, GreenShield+, directly addresses these needs by leveraging the advantages of our truly integrated payer-provider model for the seven million Canadians we serve. We have created a seamlessly integrated health and benefits ecosystem with coverage and care, all in one place. This is an experience fully designed around the plan member/patient, ensuring that their needs are at the forefront of everything we do.
By integrating coverage and care, we are breaking down traditional barriers, ensuring more Canadians get the support they need when they need it most. In 2024, we deepened our service offering and further enhanced GreenShield+ by introducing chronic disease management, care navigation, and new well-being tools, offering personalized support to help Canadians manage their health more effectively.
For All: leaving no Canadian behind
We believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. As a social enterprise, we have a unique ability to align our business growth with social impact to democratize access to care for equity-seeking communities on top of the clients we serve. As our business expands, so does our capacity to sustainably fill gaps in care and drive positive change in our communities and our country. And, as we make a greater impact and offer more inclusive services, we become a more trusted and sought after business. Our purpose and performance work together in unison, proving that social impact and business success are not separate goals, but interconnected, synergistic forces that drive each other forward.
One thing is clear: lasting impact isn't merely a goal we strive for — it is the essence of who we are. As part of our 2025 strategic plan, we have already invested $59 million in social impact and have positively impacted the lives of over 750,000 Canadians. We are well on track to achieve our goal of investing $75 million to positively impact at least one million Canadians by the end of 2025.
Our social impact priorities are helping to address some of the most pressing needs in mental health, essential medicines, and oral health.
We have positively impacted more than half a million lives through our mental health programs, we have positively impacted over 90,000 Canadians with essential medicines, and we have assisted more than 63,000 equity-seeking Canadians in accessing critical dental services.
Our efforts have not gone unnoticed. GreenShield was recertified under Imagine Canada’s Caring Company designation, exceeding the required giving benchmark by more than 15 times — one of the highest levels of giving in the country. We were also recognized on Fortune magazine’s prestigious Change the World list, as one of the top 50 organizations that are driving meaningful change worldwide.
A Proudly Canadian Success Story
This level of social impact has been enabled by an organizational culture anchored on purpose, passion and performance. Since initiating our 2025 strategic plan in 2019, we have more than doubled both our employee base and our plan participant base: 1,800 GreenShielders now serve 7.5 million Canadians. Over the same period, we have increased gross revenues by 2.3x to $5.6B and annual social impact investments by 5.3x to $12.7M. This tremendous growth has enabled GreenShield to become an even stronger force for good and a proudly Canadian success story.
Coming together for the future
Our 2024 Impact Report clearly demonstrates that our lasting impact is a function of the powerful synergies between our social impact and business growth. This dynamic combination ensures that we create meaningful and enduring change for Canadians.
- We’re proud of the strides GreenShield has made in reshaping the health and benefits industry — a system that demands and deserves more than incremental change. Accepting the status quo would be easy — but the innovative “Better Way” mindset is at the core of who we are.
- We’re unwavering in our commitment to both sides of the Better Health for All equation. With every step forward, we strengthen our service capabilities and financial capacity to support the health of underserved Canadians. This enables us to make healthcare more accessible, equitable, and responsive to those who need it most.
- Our remarkable progress has been driven by the purpose, passion, and performance of the GreenShield team.
While our impact to date has been significant, imagine the lasting impact we can create as we continue to push boundaries and advance health equity for all Canadians.
Thank you for being part of our journey.
Zahid Salman
President and CEO,
GreenShield
