The 2026 Canadian Lenders Summit will take place on October 22, 2026 at the Quay in Toronto, Ontario. Hosted by the Canadian Lenders Association (CLA), this annual event will connect decision-makers across banking, credit unions, private lending, and the rapidly evolving fintech sector.

The agenda will focus on critical areas including risk management, AI in lending, regulatory compliance, consumer credit, and business financing, offering attendees the chance to network with leading Canadian lenders and innovators while gaining actionable insights into the future of digital lending in Canada.

Morning sessions will cover why the best lenders are succeeding through stronger risk controls, cleaner data, and faster decisioning, alongside a look at whether mortgage lending can become faster and less painful given its position as one of the industry’s largest yet most frustrating credit categories.

Mid-morning sessions will shift toward fraud and small-business lending, with panels exploring how identity and onboarding now define lender economics, and how real-time data is transforming SMB credit away from spreadsheets.

After a break, the focus will move to AI and capital, including how underwriting is being reimagined through agentic AI, what auto finance looks like in the era of digital dealerships, who funds lenders when capital is no longer cheap, and how to build compliance into lending products from the start rather than treating it as a late-stage legal review.

The afternoon will examine embedded credit, technology stacks, and borrower stress. Key sessions will address how platforms and vertical software are becoming the new front door for credit, what a modern lender tech stack actually encompasses, rising consumer delinquency and what it reveals about risk and collections, and the opportunity for profitable, responsible non-prime lending.