2026 Automotive Finance Canada

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.

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.

From long-haul freight to vocational fleets, heavy-duty commercial vehicles underpin trade and critical infrastructure across North America. This session focuses on how specialized commercial finance and captive truck lenders underwrite complex fleet customers, structure multi-asset facilities, and price residual and credit risk across cycles. Panelists will dig into the role of telematics, maintenance and uptime data in credit decisions, and how they manage concentration, cross-border exposure and covenant discipline while still supporting growth in core transport segments.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.