On May 5, 2026, Payments Canada welcomed over 2,300 delegates to The 2026 Payments Canada SUMMIT to explore the future of payments. Day one opened with a clear directive: transforming the payment ecosystem to power a stronger, more competitive Canadian economy.
Setting the Stage on Day One
The SUMMIT's opening session was framed around a single, deliberate idea — that payments are no longer plumbing, but national infrastructure. From the first remarks of the day, the discussion was anchored not in product roadmaps but in the role payments play in the economy at large: trade, productivity, sovereignty, and the everyday experience of Canadian businesses and families.
It was against that backdrop that Susan E. Hawkins, President and CEO of Payments Canada, took the stage to deliver the opening keynote of Day One.
Payment Infrastructure as a National Asset
Hawkins underscored the strategic importance of Canada's payment infrastructure as a national asset — a foundation that supports Canada's prosperity, sovereignty and global competitiveness. Her central argument was that strengthening Canadian payments is not a retreat from the world, but a precondition for engaging with it on stronger terms.
"Strengthening Canada's payment sovereignty does not mean turning inward. It means engaging globally from a position of strength; able to build direct settlement corridors, reduce unnecessary dependencies and offer Canadian businesses and families real alternatives. That is what it means to treat payments as national infrastructure."
The framing set the tone for the rest of the agenda: a country building modern, sovereign payment rails to compete globally, not insulate itself.
Key Takeaways
- 2,300+ delegates attended Day One of The 2026 Payments Canada SUMMIT.
- Day One's opening directive: transform the payment ecosystem to power a stronger, more competitive Canadian economy.
- Susan E. Hawkins positioned Canada's payment infrastructure as a national asset — foundational to prosperity, sovereignty, and global competitiveness.
- Sovereignty without insularity: engage globally from a position of strength via direct settlement corridors, reduced dependencies, and real alternatives for Canadian businesses and families.