The minister spoke at Payments Canada Summit about modernizing the financial system.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If you ask Canadian finance minister Francois Champagne what the federal government\u2019s north star is, he\u2019ll tell you that it\u2019s about being \u201ca lighthouse in the fog of uncertainty.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Champagne dropped that particularly poetic line during a fireside chat at the Canada Payments Summit in Toronto on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCanadians are craving for more competition in different sectors, but certainly open banking is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francois Champagne, Minister of Finance<\/p>\n
In conversation with Payments Canada president and CEO, Susan Hawkins, Champagne opined on the period of global volatility the world finds itself in, driven by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, supply chain disruptions, trade disputes and geopolitical uncertainty. In that light, the minister said Canada is quickly becoming a lighthouse in that fog by offering predictability and stability that Champagne said uniquely positions Canada as an emergent player in a shifting economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a country of innovation,\u201d Champagne said. \u201cWe build planes, cars, ships. We have critical minerals\u2026 we have energy \u2026 we\u2019re going to be essential for the economy of the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n
Central to Canada\u2019s ambitions is rebuilding fiscal trust and credibility, Champagne said, highlighting that the country currently has a lower-than-expected deficit, and that several growth metrics position Canada as among the fastest growing economies of the G7.<\/p>\n
The focal point of Champagne\u2019s discussion centred around modernizing Canada\u2019s financial system. The minister spoke about the government\u2019s commitment to rolling out real-time rail, a national 24\/7\/365 payment system the federal government announced earlier this year that would allow for faster transactions. The long-delayed payment system, which has been in the works for over a decade, is expected to be launch late this year.<\/p>\n
Champagne also called for more competition in Canada as a way to tackle affordability issues and sustain innovation, citing changes around open banking as a key area of focus.<\/p>\n
RELATED: AI strategy pillars, new SMB procurement program revealed in Canada\u2019s Spring Economic Update<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCompetition is key for innovations and better prices, and I think Canadians are craving for more competition in different sectors, but certainly open banking is one of them,\u201d he told the audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n Open banking would let consumers securely share their financial information between their banks and third parties, instead of relying on risky methods like screen scraping. Last year\u2019s budget laid out a framework for an open banking system.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Champagne also identified fraud and financial crime as key line items for the Canadian government. Recently, in its Spring Economic Update 2026<\/a>, Canada announced it would establish a new financial crime agency and enact stricter oversight measures, including a potential ban on cryptocurrency ATMs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI see [fraud] as one of the biggest challenges we\u2019re facing collectively,\u201d Champagne said. \u201cWe need to double down because I\u2019m really concerned. I\u2019ve looked at some numbers and\u00a0 for me it\u2019s an economic security, and almost national security, issue in the sense that you want to make sure that the trust people have [in the financial system] is preserved.\u201d<\/p>\n Feature image courtesy Francois-Philippe Champagne via LinkedIn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The minister spoke at Payments Canada Summit about modernizing the financial system.
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