The Future of Auto Finance ™

2026 Automotive Finance Canada

Name: 2026 Automotive Finance Canada
Start: 2026-02-10T08:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-02-10T18:00:00+00:00
Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building

February 10th, 2026 | Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, Toronto

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About This Event

The 2026 Automotive Finance Canada conference is the premier summit for Canadian auto lending executives. The event focuses on the strategic challenges and opportunities transforming the sector, including navigating regulatory changes, combating fraud, driving digital transformation, and adapting to modern consumer behaviours. Attendees will gain critical insights and solutions necessary to secure business resilience and foster market growth.

Target attendees include senior executives from captives, banks, credit unions, and prime/non-prime auto lenders, plus key representatives from insurers and technology providers (Fintechs). Join over 300 professionals in credit risk, operations, and strategy for unparalleled networking and critical debate on the future direction of Canadian auto finance. See last year’s sold out event.

Some of our 2026 Speakers

John Kontos SVP & Head Auto Finance

Michael McGhee SVP & Head, TD Auto Finance

Sue Noble VP, Automotive Finance

Scott Morrison President

Stephen Dykau CEO

Goetz Johanning CEO

Heath Valkenburg EVP & CFO

Heather Heggie Managing Director

Dan Park CEO

Apoorv Gupta CEO

Honourable Zee Hamid Solicitor General, Auto Theft

Krishnan Mani Head, Financial Services

Andrew Mulroy VP Operations

Kevin Andrews CEO | President

Draft Agenda

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

8:00 - 5:00 Concurrent

Non-stop Networking

Use the Finance Events Network App to setup meetings in the Networking Hall throughout the day. Schedule time in the network hall. Numbers in the app correspond with numbers on the networking area high tops.

8:45 - 9:00

Setting the Stage

9:00 - 9:30

Capital Strategies: Who Funds the Auto Book Now?

The funding stack behind Canadian auto and leasing portfolios is getting more complex, with deposits, bank facilities, ABS markets and private credit all competing to finance the same assets. This session dives into how platforms are choosing and blending these options, how funders think about risk and return, and what it takes to be a “buyable” lender today. Speakers will unpack the data, structures and covenants investors expect, and how funding choices shape product design, growth and pricing.

Michael McGhee
SVP & Head, TD Auto Finance

TD
Speaker
Sue Noble
VP, Automotive Finance

RBC
Speaker
Brian Walmsley
Managing Director

SLC Management, Sun Life
Speaker

9:30 - 10:00

Digital F&I: Omnichannel Journeys Dealers Actually Use

As more of the shopping journey moves online, lenders and dealers are racing to deliver F&I flows that feel seamless to consumers but still satisfy underwriting, fraud and compliance teams. This session focuses on real-world omnichannel journeys that actually get adopted in stores: pre-qualification, digital document collection, e-sign, protection products and post-sale servicing. Learn what’s working, what isn’t, and how lenders, platforms and dealer groups can better align incentives and KPIs.

Bob Metodiev
Head of Business Development

Inovatec
Moderator
Dan Park
CEO

Clutch
Speaker
Kevin Andrews
CEO | President

AUTO|ONE Group
Speaker

10:00 - 10:30

Under the Microscope: AI Credit Decisioning

Auto and leasing credit teams are rapidly moving from traditional rules-based scorecards to AI-driven models for decisioning, pricing and limit management. This session unpacks how lenders are deploying machine learning in production while managing fairness, explainability, and model risk. Speakers will share practical examples of performance lift, governance frameworks that satisfy boards and regulators, and where human judgment still needs to overrule the algorithm.

Sarah Sun
Sr. Director Risk Modelling

RBC
Speaker
Jason Appel
CRO

goeasy
Speaker
Matt Browning
President

Trust Science
Speaker

10:30 - 11:00

Morning Schmooze

Sponsored by Inovatec

11:00 - 11:15

Assets to Intelligence: Rewriting the Economics of Fleet Finance

Mini-Keynote: For decades, commercial vehicle finance has been built on the assumption that identical assets carry identical risk, but that premise no longer holds in a world where fleets generate continuous, high-resolution data about how assets are actually used, maintained, and stressed. This keynote introduces a fundamental shift in commercial leasing and fleet management: from static, average-based contracts to intelligence-driven systems that price, manage, and regulate risk in real time. As vehicles become software-defined, fleets electrify, and compliance moves from periodic audits to continuous monitoring, capital flows toward predictability, transparency, and trust. Usage-based underwriting, predictive maintenance, and verified ESG performance are transforming fleets into living financial systems where risk is observed rather than inferred. This session sets the stage for how lessors, lenders, insurers, and regulators must evolve their operating models as behavior, not asset class, becomes the primary determinant of value in the next generation of fleet finance.

Apoorv Gupta
CEO

Roam
Keynote

11:15 - 11:45

Capital on the Road: Financing Canada’s Commercial Fleets

Leaders in the industry discuss how small and mid-sized operators are assessed, how multi-vehicle facilities are structured, and how tools such as telematics, maintenance data and portfolio analytics are reshaping risk management. Panellists will also explore how regional conditions and economic cycles influence underwriting and portfolio oversight, and how institutions support fleet customers through expansion and downturns while keeping capital deployed efficiently.

Heather Heggie
Managing Director

Volvo Financial Services
Speaker
Goetz Johanning
CEO

Daimler Truck Financial Services Canada
Speaker
Heath Valkenburg
EVP & CFO

Element Fleet Management
Speaker

11:45 - 12:15

Residual Roulette: Financing EV When Values Won’t Sit Still

EV and hybrid values have been anything but predictable, creating new challenges for lenders, captives, lessors and insurers trying to price long-term risk. This session examines how the industry is approaching residuals, terms, guarantees and secondary markets for electrified vehicles of all types. Hear how policy, technology, charging infrastructure and consumer demand are feeding into models — and what strategies are emerging to manage downside while still supporting EV growth.

Daniel Ross
Industry Insights & Residual Value Strategy

Canadian Black Book
Moderator
Scott Morrison
President

Nissan Canada Finance
Speaker
Krishnan Mani
Head, Financial Services

Lucid Motors
Speaker

12:15 - 1:15

Network Lunch

Sponsored by Earnix

1:15 - 1:30

Financing Fraud: Fireside Chat with MPP Zee Hamid

In this fireside chat, MPP Zee Hamid, Associate Solicitor General for Auto Theft and Bail Reform, shares enforcement and policy insights into the organized crime networks driving auto theft and financing fraud, and how government agencies are responding. The conversation will focus on trends that matter to lenders, including fraud typologies seen at origination, dealer and customer risk patterns, asset recovery challenges, and opportunities for public-private collaboration. The session is designed to provide industry-facing intelligence and practical context, helping lenders better understand emerging risks and align asset protection, fraud detection, and recovery strategies with evolving enforcement realities.

Tal Schwartz
General Partner

North Exit Ventures
Moderator
Honourable Zee Hamid
Solicitor General, Auto Theft

Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Speaker

1:30 - 2:00

The Big Squeeze: Delinquencies, Losses & Portfolio Defense

With rates elevated and household budgets under pressure, delinquencies and losses are back at the top of every credit committee agenda. This session looks at how lenders are responding to a higher-for-longer environment: tightening or recalibrating underwriting, revisiting term and LTV strategies, and refining collections and restructuring playbooks. Panelists will dig into cohort analysis, early warning indicators and stress testing, and how they’re defending portfolio quality while still supporting originations.

Stephen Dykau
CEO

Santander
Speaker
Andrew Mulroy
VP Operations

iA Auto Finance
Speaker

2:00 - 2:30

Synthetic IDs, Deepfakes and the Rise of Ghost Customers

Fraudsters are upgrading their toolkit with synthetic identities, doctored documents, mule networks and even deepfakes aimed at lenders and dealers. This session explores the latest attack patterns across prime, near-prime and non-prime segments, and how institutions are using data, identity verification and analytics to stay ahead. Panelists will also cover partnerships with law enforcement, operational impacts on front-line teams, and how to balance fraud controls with customer experience.

John Kontos
SVP & Head Auto Finance

Scotiabank
Speaker
Chris Jepsen
Senior Product Manager

Equifax Canada
Speaker
Patrick Boudreau
Head, ID & Fraud

TransUnion
Speaker

2:30 - 3:00

Afternoon Coffee

3:00 - 3:15

Reading the Signals: How Early Data Is Reshaping Auto Finance Risk

Mini keynote: As the auto finance landscape continues to evolve, early insight has become a critical differentiator for lenders. This session examines what industry-wide risk indicator data and emerging dealer behaviour patterns are revealing today, and how early dealer-level signals are influencing lender outcomes across credit, and risk. Drawing on real-world data from across the auto finance ecosystem, the presentation explores what is driving changes in dealer activity, why early visibility matters, and how connected monitoring, reporting, and insight enable lenders to anticipate risk sooner, respond more effectively, and make more confident decisions in a rapidly changing market.

Sarah Petryna
Sr. Director, Product

DealerTrack
Keynote

3:15 - 3:45

Metal to Metrics: Remarketing & Recovery Strategies

Remarketing and recovery are no longer just about moving metal; they’re about using data to decide which assets to recover, when to sell them and through which channels. This discussion looks at how lenders, captives and auctions are blending physical and digital lanes, leveraging analytics to maximize NPV, and managing capacity constraints in repo and recovery. Panelists will also touch on regional differences, regulatory expectations and how EVs and commercial vehicles are changing the playbook.

Erin Maloney
Sr Director, Reservices

CanCap
Moderator
Taylor Bursey
Director of Sales

Copart
Speaker
Gerry Johnson
National Accounts

North Toronto Auction
Speaker

4:00 - 5:30

May I Buy You a Drink?

End of day networking event.

Sponsored by Defi Solutions

Details

Date

February 10th, 2026

Time

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Venue

Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, 222 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, Ontario

Limited Seats

From CAD 450.00