Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada announcement

TORONTO, Dec. 14, 2012 /CNW/ - Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada ("Sun Life") and Sun Life Financial Trust Inc. ("Sun Life Trust") are issuing this announcement under the early warning system in respect of their holdings in Canadian Tire Corporation (the "Corporation") under the Corporation's deferred profit sharing plan (the "Plan"). Effective November 23, 2007, Sun Life was engaged to make available to the Plan a group annuity policy and was directed to create and continues to make available a segregated fund with Sun Life consisting of Common Shares and Class A Non-Voting Shares of the Corporation (the "CTC Share Fund"). In connection with the CTC Share Fund, Sun Life holds as legal and beneficial owner, and Sun Life Trust, which effective the date hereof became the trustee of the Plan, holds as trustee and group annuity policyholder, 419,280 Common Shares of the Corporation representing approximately 12.2% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, and 1,005,855 Class A Non-Voting Shares of the Corporation, representing 1.29% of the issued and outstanding Class A Non-Voting Shares.

Neither Sun Life nor Sun Life Trust has any economic interest in those Common Shares or Class A Non-Voting Shares, as they are held in the CTC Share Fund for the sole benefit of the Plan and its participants. Further, each has agreed since the inception of their involvement with the Plan not to independently exercise any rights of control or direction over those shares, and to act solely upon direction with respect to voting rights and solely in response to participant directions in connection with purchases and sales of such shares. In addition to the Common Shares and Class A Non-Voting Shares of the Corporation held in the CTC Share Fund, Sun Life holds an 1,420,608 Class A Non-Voting Shares of the Corporation for the benefit of another Sun Life segregated fund for which it also takes investment directions from plan participants, such that its combined holdings represent 3.11% of the Class A Non-Voting Shares of the Corporation in the aggregate.

Sun Life (with a head office address of 150 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 1J9) and Sun Life Trust (with a head office address of 227 King Street South, Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 4C5) are each an "eligible institutional investor" as defined in National Instrument 61-103 The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, and each intends to file the alternative monthly reports contemplated by Part 4 of that Instrument. There are no joint actors involved with Sun Life and Sun Life Trust in connection with their roles in relation to the Plan.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Vietnam and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2012, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $515 billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Note to Editors: All figures in Canadian dollars.

SOURCE: Sun Life Financial Inc.