Canada committed to real-time rail, aims to be a point of stability in an uncertain world, finance minister says

If you ask Canadian finance minister Francois Champagne what the federal government’s north star is, he’ll tell you that it’s about being “a lighthouse in the fog of uncertainty.”

Champagne dropped that particularly poetic line during a fireside chat at the Payments Canada Summit in Toronto on Wednesday.

“Canadians are craving for more competition in different sectors, but certainly open banking is one of them.”
Francois Champagne, Minister of Finance

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.

“We are a country of innovation,” Champagne said. “We build planes, cars, ships. We have critical minerals… we have energy … we’re going to be essential for the economy of the 21st century.”

Central to Canada’s 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.

The focal point of Champagne’s discussion centred around modernizing Canada’s financial system. The minister spoke about the government’s 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.

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.

“Competition 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,” he told the audience.

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’s budget laid out a framework for an open banking system.

Champagne also identified fraud and financial crime as key line items for the Canadian government. Recently, in its Spring Economic Update 2026, Canada announced it would establish a new financial crime agency and enact stricter oversight measures, including a potential ban on cryptocurrency ATMs.

“I see [fraud] as one of the biggest challenges we’re facing collectively,” Champagne said. “We need to double down because I’m really concerned. I’ve looked at some numbers and for me it’s 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.”

Feature image courtesy Payments Canada.