Survey finds consistently more positive outlook among leaders in Canada, though they may be falling behind in one crucial area
While the Canadian economy saw 6.5% GDP growth in June, according to figures from Statistics Canada, it suffered a much larger setback for the second quarter overall as economic output contracted by 38.7%, officially marking a period of recession for the country. While indicators overwhelmingly point to a long-drawn, bumpy recovery, Canada’s business leaders are showing signs of much-needed optimism.
Drawing from two surveys of global CEOs – one conducted during the pandemic’s onset in January and another pulse check conducted from late July to early August – KPMG found that only 12% of Canadian CEOs saw a significant or moderate decline in confidence, compared to 29% of CEOs globally. In addition, 40% of Canada’s chief executives said they were still as confident as they were pre-pandemic, in contrast to 26% of CEOs across the world.
Canadian CEOs also felt much or moderately more confident than their peers about prospects for the next three years with respect to their country (48% among CEOs in Canada vs. 45% globally), their industry (56% vs. 55%), and their company (84% vs. 67%). And when asked how they thought the economy compares now to how it was pre-COVID, only 12% of the chief executives representing Canada said it was in worse shape.
“The actions taken in Canada to flatten the COVID-19 curve and keep cases fairly subdued means that CEOs here feel more assured than their global peers that our national economy will not collapse,” said Stephanie Terrill, business unit leader, management consulting, KPMG in Canada.
When asked to name the top threats to growth, Canadian CEOs reported the most concern with respect to territorialism and climate risks. They also named issues such as talent risk, emerging or disruptive technologies, and cyberattacks as prime threats.
With that in mind, Canada’s business leaders are stepping up their investments in digital technology. Seventy-six per cent agreed that disruptive tech will be critical to long-term sustainable growth; 84% said they’re prioritizing tech to meet growth and transformation objectives, and 92% said COVID has accelerated their digital transformation.
Still, tech digitalization might be proceeding too slowly in Canada. Just 16% of CEOs in Canada felt that they’ve squeezed years of progress in digitizing their operations in the past few months alone, compared to 30% of global leaders. And only 4% of Canadian CEOs said they’ve made years’ worth of advances in developing new digital business models and revenue streams, compared to almost 17% globally.
