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ARTICLE · 27 JANUARY 2026

Why 2026 Will Be A Make-or-break Year For Financial Innovation In Canada

Gowling WLG
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After a stop-start digital and financial services policy cycle in 2025, Canada is entering 2026 with renewed momentum and clearer intent. With Budget 2025 laying the groundwork for modernization...

CanadaFinance and Banking
Alana Scotchmer
Alana Scotchmer
Parna Sabet-Stephenson
Parna Sabet-Stephenson
Adam Garetson
Adam Garetson
Antoine Guilmain
Antoine Guilmain
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After a stop-start digital and financial services policy cycle in 2025, Canada is entering 2026 with renewed momentum and clearer intent. With Budget 2025 laying the groundwork for modernization, the coming year will be defined by execution: translating policy ambition into functioning frameworks for privacy, AI, payments and digital finance.

For fintechs, financial institutions and technology providers, 2026 won't just be about keeping up with compliance; it will be about positioning early for a more connected, data-driven and real-time financial system.

Open banking: From concept to compliance

Consumer-driven (aka "open") banking is poised to move decisively from policy vision to reality in 2026. With the data mobility right as its foundation, enshrined in amendments to Canadian privacy legislation, and a proposed Consumer Driven Banking Act expected to be enacted early in 2026, attention will shift to implementation details that will be set out in

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