Open banking — or consumer-driven banking, as Ottawa calls it — is about allowing Canadians and businesses to securely share their financial data with third parties other than their banks.

Open banking could let Canadians with multiple accounts across different banks see their entire financial picture on one convenient dashboard. It also could help renters build their credit scores just by paying their rent on time every month.

Other nations have implemented open banking systems and the federal Liberals passed initial legislation last year to break ground on open banking in Canada.

But getting to that point — and keeping up the pressure to get the second half of that legislation tabled — has been “a slog,” said Fintechs Canada executive director Alex Vronces.

“I don’t think the government at first understood really what consumer-driven banking was,” he said.

After years of study, Ottawa got the ball rolling on open banking through the legislation to implement the 2024 federal budget roughly a year ago.

That bill gave the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada a mandate to head up the country’s open banking framework. Legislation is still required to implement a plan to accredit service providers and set the common rules that financial institutions will have to follow.

The Liberal government said in the 2024 fall economic statement that it’s looking at early 2026 for implementation of open banking.

But Canada has gone through a federal election since those plans were made — and while the Liberals were returned to power with another minority government, references to consumer-driven banking were absent from the party’s election platform.

And the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney did not table a spring budget, which it normally would use to outline its legislative priorities.

Natacha Boudrias, leader of the National Bank of Canada’s open banking strategy, said the industry lacks “clarity” on the future shape of consumer-driven banking. She said the spring election likely stalled movement on the file.

“We’re certainly hoping that the government is going to kick-start the effort sooner rather than later so that we don’t get stuck in a loop of consultation,” she said.

A Finance Canada official said in a media statement that the government is still committed to consumer-driven banking.

“The remaining elements of the consumer-driven banking framework will be introduced at the earliest opportunity, to ensure that Canadian consumers and business can securely benefit from tools that help them reduce costs and improve their financial outcomes,” the statement says.

Instead of waiting on Ottawa, the National Bank has moved forward on its own open-banking framework that lets fintechs — financial technology firms that develop apps for Canadians and businesses — essentially plug into their databases to share information securely when users give their permission.

The status quo for financial data sharing is “screen scraping,” a process that usually sees an individual share banking credentials with a third party to access the information an app needs to run.

But Boudrias said there’s no control over how much or how little data is shared through screen scraping — it’s all or nothing, making it a potential privacy nightmare.

Open banking ideally takes that firehose of data and narrows it, giving users control over the information a fintech sees and how long it can access it.

“It’s about putting the rails of trust in place,” Boudrias said.

Financial Consumer Agency of Canada commissioner Shereen Benzvy Miller addressed the risks of screen scraping in notes for her keynote address at the Open Banking Expo in Toronto on Tuesday.

Benzvy Miller said Canadians are already sharing data widely with fintechs but they may not know much about the privacy risks involved. She said part of the agency’s task will be to drive consumer awareness of open banking to build trust.

“We envision a future — not far off — where consumers can securely share their financial data with trusted providers at the tap of a button,” she said in a copy of the speech shared with The Canadian Press.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada will be in charge of building and vetting a public registry of fintechs that Canadians and financial service providers can trust to handle data securely. These fintechs will be granted a handy visual logo to mark their accreditation.

Benzvy Miller said the agency is also working with Finance Canada on setting out common rules for the system and the agency is looking forward to seeing legislative amendments from the finance minister.

But if that final legislation isn’t tabled soon, Vronces said, the agency will be stuck in “regulatory purgatory.”

“They’ll have a mandate but they won’t be able to do anything with it,” he said.

Getting to this point has been a long haul for Vronces, who has been lobbying on behalf of Canadian fintechs for roughly seven years.

He said he has reasons to believe Carney will be a champion of consumer-driven banking. Carney was governor of the Bank of England when the United Kingdom introduced such a system in 2017.

The opportunity to implement open banking comes as a pivotal time, Vronces said, as Carney looks to overhaul the Canadian economy and improve productivity in the face of global trade upheaval.

Open banking could light a fire under Canada’s financial sector, he said, because big banks would be forced to diversify their services and compete with the wider fintech industry.

Vronces said early conversations with the federal government give him hope that the second half of the legislation will be tabled soon, possibly alongside the federal budget in the fall.

He compared the open banking file to a magazine that’s already had the articles written and the layout set, with just a few finishing touches remaining.

“It’s really not a lot of work for the government to complete its promise,” he said. “It just needs to hit print.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

The changes come almost a year after the federal government argued before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that requests for funding under Jordan’s Principle were including things like modelling headshots and gaming consoles.

The CHRT said last month it was “quite concerned” about that.

This week Ottawa moved to bar approvals for home renovations, sporting events, international travel, non-medical supports or school-related requests unless required to ensure equality with kids who are not First Nations.

But Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society says Canada’s changes to the program aren’t evidence-based, and that it’s taking an approach that “feeds into colonial stereotypes.”

Jordan’s Principle is named after a Manitoba boy with multiple disabilities who died in hospital waiting for the province and Ottawa to decide who should pay for health supports that would allow him to go home.

Under the program families are to apply for and receive funding as its needed, with the provinces and federal government later sorting out jurisdictional battles over which is responsible for the bill.

In January Jordan’s father, Ernest, condemned “abuse” of the program on social media, saying kids with urgent needs are seeing delays in accessing funds due to misuse.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2025.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

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Executive Director of First Nations Child Family Caring Society of Canada, Cindy Blackstock speaks on child welfare during the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

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Despite tariff pause, uncertainty hangs over Canadian economy

Uncertainty still hangs over the Canadian economy despite U.S. President Donald Trump announcing a 30-day pause in tariffs that were to take effect today. The temporary reprieve halts — at least for now — a continental trade war that economists on both sides of the border warned would raise prices. Trump’s decision meant Canada and the provinces also halted their moves to retaliate including with tariffs and bans on U.S. alcohol sales north of the border. Unifor, the country’s largest private sector union, insists that Trump’s threat of tariffs remains in effect, threatening Canadian jobs. Trump on Saturday signed an order to impose 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports, with a lower 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy.

Truckers say tariffs would cause industry layoffs

Truckers say the tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump would wreak havoc on their industry as trade between Canada and the United States would take a hit. The across-the-board taxes of 25 per cent on Canadian imports to the U.S. — now delayed for at least a month until early March — would mark the biggest trade shock north of the border in nearly a century. Canadian Trucking Alliance president Stephen Laskowski says the fallout could be the final nail in the coffin for many of his group’s 5,000 transport companies, already struggling because of weaker consumer demand.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Ontario votes: Leaders to stop in Ottawa, Brampton

Two of Ontario’s main party leaders are set to make stops in the national capital after Canada got a 30-day reprieve from U.S. tariff threats that dominated campaign promises at the start of the week. Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford and NDP Leader Marit Stiles are both making announcements in Ottawa this morning, with Stiles heading to Kingston, Ont., in the afternoon. Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie is set to make an announcement about tax cuts in Brampton, Ont., and then hold an event at Toronto Metropolitan University. The snap election that Ford triggered last week will be held Feb. 27.

More video expected today at teens’ murder trial

The trial of two teen girls accused in the death of a homeless Toronto man is expected to continue today with more security video of the night of the incident. The two girls are among eight charged in the death of Kenneth Lee, who court heard died on Dec. 18, 2022, after he was beaten and stabbed at a downtown Toronto parkette. The girls, who were 14 and 16 at the time, have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. The younger girl pleaded guilty through her lawyer to the lesser charge of manslaughter as the trial began Monday, but the plea was rejected by the Crown.

From Musk to mushrooms, Canadian buyers let money do the talking amid tariff turmoil

Some Canadian consumers are letting their money do the talking when it comes to policies and politics south of the border. Vancouver finance worker Michael Atkinson says the threat of U.S. tariffs from President Donald Trump was the final straw that saw him return his Tesla to the dealer with two months left on the lease. Other Canadian consumers are making their feelings felt at the grocery store by rejecting American products in favour of Canadian alternatives. Shopper Andrea Mitchell says she was proud of finding Canadian-grown mushrooms, and buying domestic products is a way to demonstrate Canadian sovereignty and think about the country’s future.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2025.

The Canadian Press

Trump has pledged to sign an executive order on inauguration day to impose 25 per cent tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico.

When he first made the threat, the president-elect said the tariffs were a response to what he called inaction by both countries on keeping migrants and illegal drugs out of the United States.

The Liberal government laid out a $1.3-billion plan to beef up the border in December that includes extra police and border guards, helicopters, drones and drug-sniffing dogs.

Trump has since pivoted to saying the tariffs are being introduced because of the United States’ trade deficit with Canada.

The federal government has prepared several plans to respond if the levies come into place today — plans that could include billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs.

Two federal government sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about details of the plan say the government is waiting to see what happens Monday before revealing its response.

The sources say that if Trump sets the tariffs at 25 per cent, Canada’s opening salvo would be counter-tariffs worth roughly $37 billion, with a possible second wave of tariffs worth another $110 billion.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened a meeting Friday of a newly formed advisory council on Canada-U. S. relations that includes former premiers, labour leaders and representatives of the auto industry.

Trudeau met with the country’s 13 premiers last Wednesday to discuss possible retaliatory actions.

At the end of those meetings, he and 12 premiers released a statement pledging to present a united front to their American counterparts.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith broke with the group, refusing to sign on to the statement and posting on social media that she cannot support the “Team Canada” approach if energy exports could be part of the federal government’s response.

Trudeau has said everything must be on the table, including energy.

Trump repeatedly pledged throughout the presidential campaign to bring down the cost of gas and groceries for Americans.

Canadian officials have been travelling to Washington, D.C., in recent weeks to try to convince key Republicans that tariffs would accomplish the opposite of that.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told reporters on Friday that many lawmakers and Trump administration officials she’s met with in Washington have been surprised to learn about the possible impacts of Trump’s tariffs.

She told CNN that Canada is “pleading for peace.”

“At the same time, if Trump is going ahead with tariffs, he’s starting a trade war and of course we will retaliate,” she said, adding that it would increase the cost of groceries, home heating and gas for Americans.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2025.

— With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

The government recently published proposed regulations aimed at ensuring all gun makes and models for sale in Canada are known to the federal firearms registrar.

There is currently no obligation for businesses that import or manufacture firearms to share technical specifications with authorities, meaning guns could go on the market without being fully assessed.

The proposed regulations would require businesses to provide certain data to the registrar before importing or manufacturing a batch of firearms.

The information would include details such as make, model, shot capacity, gauge or calibre, barrel length, stock type and whether the firearm can accept a detachable magazine.

The businesses would have to provide follow-up details upon request, and keep records showing they have provided information to the registrar, whose work is supported by the RCMP’s firearms program.

However, businesses would not have to wait for a response from the registrar, ensuring no disruption of supply chains or a company’s activities.

The group PolySeSouvient, a long-time proponent of stricter gun laws, has called for a requirement that federal authorities not only collect such data from businesses, but also carry out a technical assessment of a firearm before it hits the Canadian market.

PolySeSouvient says this is the best way to ensure a restricted or even prohibited firearm is not improperly classified as a non-restricted gun suitable for hunting. The group points to a 2023 episode in which the RCMP told owners to turn in fully automatic military surplus firearms after hundreds were misidentified and allowed into Canada for commercial sale.

A federal analysis published late last month along with the proposed new measures says the regulations would “partially address” the group’s concerns, but do not “address calls for physical inspection of all firearms prior to entry into the Canadian market.”

The government is inviting public comment on the proposed regulations until Feb. 11.

In a statement, PolySeSouvient said the planned measures fall short of a commitment from former public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc.

LeBlanc told a Senate committee in October 2023 that regulatory changes would be made “to impose mandatory physical inspection by the RCMP of all new firearm models before they are placed on the Canadian market.”

“These regulatory measures will ensure that no firearm enters the Canadian market without having been properly listed or classified by competent government authorities.”

Ottawa Liberal MP David McGuinty recently took over the public safety portfolio from LeBlanc. Rachel Bendayan, a Montreal Liberal MP, was named associate public safety minister.

PolySeSouvient calls the planned federal approach “very disappointing,” saying the new regulations would merely mean the RCMP has the technical information in its possession.

“There is no new requirement for the RCMP to verify and certify that a non-restricted model is correctly classified before it enters the market, meaning misclassifications can continue,” the group says.

“As before, the RCMP will have to play catch-up once they get around to inspecting the technical data.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2025.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press

Online Harms Act among bills stuck in House

Justice Minister Arif Virani is unapologetic about the money it would take to set up new regulators to tackle online harms under his proposed legislation.

Canadians want children to be safe online, “and if that costs money to set up and to enforce, so be it,” Virani said.

The cost of those bodies, which the Parliamentary Budget Officer has pegged at $200 million over five years, is a bone of contention for the Conservatives, who say the bill would create a “massive” bureaucracy.

Even if the Online Harms Act manages to somehow make it through a months-long impasse at the House of Commons and become law before an election, the Conservatives have pledged to repeal it should they form government.

Both the Liberals and Conservatives agree it’s time for something to be done to tackle online harms. They have both introduced bills to do so. But with no apparent common ground, legislation doesn’t have a path forward, even as parents whose children died because of online sexual extortion plead with MPs to act.

Virani said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press that it “seems the Conservative Party of Canada has a problem with investing money to keep Canadians safe. And that to me is not a morally tenable proposition.”

Here’s what else we’re watching…

All signs point to spring federal election

Canada appears to be barrelling toward a spring election now that the NDP is vowing to vote down the government early next year — whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stays on or not.

Political watchers are abuzz over the possible scenarios that could play out in the coming year following last week’s drama that rocked Trudeau’s government, and a springtime national campaign is the one that’s solidifying the fastest.

The exact timing is very much up in the air, but the best bet is for the government to fall by late March, and then a general election day would fall in April or May, said Yaroslav Baran, co-founder of the Pendulum Group and former chief of staff to Conservative house leader Jay Hill.

“The greatest likelihood would be that the government would fall at some point between late February and late March,” he said, making April or May the “most likely scenario” for the election day.

If the government falls on a non-confidence vote, the prime minister would then be obliged to go to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to inform her and advise her on election timing. The window for a campaign is a minimum of 36 days and a maximum of 50 days, according to Elections Canada.

Manitoba premier faces challenges in new year

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew’s popularity shows little sign of waning more than a year after he led the provincial New Democrats to power.

But there are some tough choices ahead as he tries to fulfil promises to improve health care, address poverty and get the government’s finances in order.

Kinew has carried through on election promises to hire more health-care workers, expand school nutrition programs and temporarily suspend the provincial fuel tax for a one-year period that is to end Jan. 1.

The NDP government has also announced extra funding for the arts, policing and other items. Opinion polls continue to rank highly the NDP as a party and Kinew as a premier.

What Kinew has yet to show is a plan to control spending in order to balance the budget by 2027 — another campaign promise — and end a long series of deficits in Manitoba, said political analyst Paul Thomas.

Ontario animal welfare body eyes more transparency

Ontario’s little-known team of taxpayer-funded animal cruelty investigators recently issued its first-ever news release, years after launching in 2020.

The small but meaningful step toward increased transparency comes after sustained pressure from The Canadian Press — along with animal advocacy groups and opposition politicians — for Animal Welfare Services to open up publicly about its years-long probe of Marineland.

Earlier this month, the organization housed under the Ministry of the Solicitor General issued a short statement about the death of five dogs and the “distress” of 24 more. It said that it had laid 96 charges against a Hamilton woman.

Chief Animal Welfare Inspector Melanie Milczynski has shared little else about the case but said its significance, along with questions from locals about the organization’s investigation, played a role in going public about the charges.

But Milczynski admitted that Animal Welfare Services has been under fire to be more open about its work.

B.C. mountain biking royalty go beyond the extreme

Betty Birrell expertly guides her mountain bike over an elevated wooden ramp, catching some air, then lands smoothly on a trail she’s ridden countless times before.

At 76, the local legend has spent three decades tackling the rugged slopes of Vancouver’s North Shore mountains, beginning in about 1993, when she says it was an anomaly to see another woman racing through the lush forests.

Birrell sums up those early days as “lots of gnar, lots of jank, not much suspension” — for non-riders, that roughly translates as steep, tight, rocky and generally sketchy terrain on bikes that were a far cry from today’s high-tech machines.

She’s still tackling some of the most challenging trails the North Shore has to offer, but after many years of mostly riding alone, Birrell has found community in the Shore Sirens, a group for women and nonbinary riders formed in 2023.

Shore Sirens president and co-founder Jessie Curell describes Birrell as an elite athlete who shows up “to shred almost every time,” not just enjoy the fresh air.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press

Political watchers are abuzz over the possible scenarios that could play out in the coming year following last week’s drama that rocked Trudeau’s government, and a springtime national campaign is the one that’s solidifying the fastest.

The exact timing is very much up in the air, but the best bet is for the government to fall by late March, and then a general election day would fall in April or May, said Yaroslav Baran, co-founder of the Pendulum Group and former chief of staff to Conservative house leader Jay Hill.

“The greatest likelihood would be that the government would fall at some point between late February and late March,” he said, making April or May the “most likely scenario” for the election day.

If the government falls on a non-confidence vote, the prime minister would then be obliged to go to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to inform her and advise her on election timing. The window for a campaign is a minimum of 36 days and a maximum of 50 days, according to Elections Canada.

The events in Ottawa of the past week appear to have moved up the political calendar by somewhere around five months, since the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland dealt a stunning blow to Trudeau’s grip on the party and has renewed the internal push for him to step down as leader.

Trudeau is said to now be reflecting on his future. The prime minister’s office did not respond Monday when asked about his plans for the holidays.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has vowed he will help defeat the governing Liberals in a confidence vote when the House returns. The Conservatives, locked firmly ahead in the polls, have been demanding an election all fall, while the Bloc has also recently called for an election early in the new year.

Singh could still change his mind and many scenarios remain possible, such as an opposition party negotiating a big-ticket item into the budget then having a fall election as scheduled, but that’s looking less and less tenable.

“It no longer makes a whole lot of sense to cut some sort of a deal and be a partner to the government that you’re about to vilify a couple of months later as Public Enemy no. 1,” Baran said.

“Obviously, the Liberals no longer enjoy the support of any of the opposition parties. So, the likelihood of a spring election is high — regardless of whether the government prorogues,” said Brittney Kerr, founding partner at Framepoint Public Affairs and former Liberal campaign co-chair in 2019.

“It won’t be lost on anyone at the centre (in the Prime Minister’s Office) how complex the political equation is to win, given overwhelming public sentiment in favour of the Conservatives, coupled with the prime minister’s long tenure.”

The government can still prorogue, which would hit the stop button on Parliament and put it into a deep winter sleep for as long as several months. That would allow breathing room for a leadership race should Trudeau decide to step down.

But Baran said such a move would only take him so far given the opposition parties all now appear ready to go to the polls and parliament has to return before long to approve finances and keep paying public servants — and face the music on those key votes.

“If the prime minister prorogues, it allows him to not have to face Parliament on January 27th. So, he can buy some time for planning, for regrouping, et cetera, but it would be really difficult for that prorogation period to last beyond the end of March.”

A leadership race would be a hurried affair compared to Liberal party contests in the past. When Trudeau was elected leader in 2013, the race took some six months, though in 1993 the Progressive Conservatives elected Kim Campbell in a contest lasting about three months.

Former Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick said proroguing just as Donald Trump is inaugurated as president on Jan. 20 would power down parliament at a bad time — stripping options off the table to respond to possible sudden trade moves that could hurt Canada.

“The question is not whether the prime minister can prorogue. It’s whether he should. My sense is that it would be a very bad choice to drop our shields before January 20th. I think we may need Parliament to be around and functional.”

The Liberals have been weaving a narrative that an experienced government needs to be in place to deal with an unpredictable Trump, and opposition parties too are positioning that the public should choose a stronger leader than Trudeau to deal with an aggressive Trump White House.

Wernick said Canada should look to get its election out of the way sooner in the year rather than later.

“The best thing for the country would be to get the election over with as soon as possible and be very clear who Canadians have chosen to lead us,” he said. “The more we prolong this performance theatre and house of cards — who’s got legitimacy, who’s got confidence, who’s the leader, who’s going to be the successor — dragging this out is weakening the country.”

Wernick suggested the political parties could, given the high stakes of the Trump presidency, reach a sort of partisan-ceasefire agreement to pass as much legislation as they could in a short few weeks, such as Bill C-65 which would amend the Canada Elections Act, and then have their election-triggering confidence vote.

“The Republicans and the Democrats can do negotiations in Washington. Surely our parties can.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves after a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

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In a resignation letter, she says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered her another role in cabinet Friday, but that the only “honest and viable path” is to leave cabinet.

Freeland says for the past several weeks that she and the prime minister have found themselves at odds about the best path forward for Canada.

She says Canada faces a grave challenge with the incoming Trump administration and its threat of tariffs.

She says the government needs to take the threat seriously and that means “eschewing costly political gimmicks.”

She says she is committed to running again for her seat in the next federal election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2024.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press

That Conservative motion is worded to show support for the right to strike and declares non-confidence in the Liberal government for its recent moves to end labour disruptions by rail and port workers.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Wednesday called on the NDP to “stand with unions” and vote to bring down the Liberal government.

But just ahead of debate starting, NDP MP Heather McPherson seized the parliamentary remote control from the Conservatives and changed the channel to Canada’s global assistance for sexual and reproductive health rights.

The move pushes back debate on the Conservative motion and a vote is expected to happen on the NDP motion after question period.

The government will face a raft of opposition motions in the coming days ahead of the winter holiday break.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press

Biden says it has been his greatest honour to serve but he believes it is in the best interest of his party to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling his duties as president for the rest of his term.

Growing numbers of Democrats were urging Biden to drop out following a disastrous debate performance against Trump and multiple missteps on the world stage during the recent NATO leaders’ summit in Washington.

Biden told supporters Friday he was ready to get back on the road this week after recovering from COVID-19, which he contracted during a critical time for his campaign.

Biden criticized Trump’s acceptance speech at last week’s Republican National Convention, saying it presented a dark vision for the future, and indicated he would forge ahead with his own campaign.

But he issued a social media post on Sunday afternoon saying he would not be running, adding he will speak to the nation and provide more detail later this week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press