Member voices, offers and opportunities to grow your business. October 8, 2026 Sign up | View online The Buzz This Week Canadian Business Leaders Call For Improved Business Climate Board President and CEO Giles Gherson joins hundreds of other business leaders in signing the 'Bet on Canada' open letter, saying Canada needs an improved corporate environment. University of Toronto launching $100-million scholarship fund to attract PhD students U of T aims to recruit top PhD students from Canada and abroad, who will each year tackle a new interdisciplinary theme, such as AI in health care or Arctic sovereignty. WSP Global buying Canadian engineering consulting firm GCM Corpo WSP says the acquisition will grow its core engineering consulting business in Canada and broaden access to clients in the energy and industrial sectors. Emera and Canadian Utilities to merge into $72-billion powerhouse Emera Inc. and Canadian Utilities Ltd. have announced a merger – one they call the largest in Canadian history - that would serve six million customers across Canada, the United States, and international markets. CPKC sets grain transportation records Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway set new records for transporting grain and grain products across Canada and the United States for the month of September and the third quarter. ON THE MOVE ▸Susan Reisbord takes over as President and CEO of Stantec ▸Sandra Sanderson named Executive Advisor, Growth and Marketing Strategy at Deloitte Canada ▸Riccardo Cosentino named Senior Vice President of Nuclear Financing at AtkinsRéalis ▸Douglas Ackerman named Global Director, Engineering Intelligence, and Brad Hulsman named Vice President, Operations in Canada at WSP ▸Dennis Burns appointed Market Leader, Ports and Marine at CIMA+ Welcome to our New Members! ATCO Laurel's Cleaning Company Mary's Brigadeiro Msngr Creative Thrive Youth Without Shelter Small Business Month Because there is more to your business than just business. In honour of Small Business Month, Scotiabank has a great offer to share with you and your business. What Our Members Are Saying Cautious Canadian Consumers Shopping With Their Hearts "Canadians are cutting back, but they're drawing a hard line on where their money goes. More of them than ever want their money to stay in Canada--and older Canadians are making that choice especially clear: even as they plan some of the steepest spending cuts, two-thirds of baby boomers are still willing to pay more for Canadian-made products." — Adam Boutros, Partner and National Consumer Markets Leader at PwC Canada Office Market Accelerates in Q3 as Pendulum Swings Towards a Landlord’s Market “It’s time to turn the page on the office recovery. That recovery is well entrenched and with fundamentals on solid footing we’re seeing the advantage in lease negotiations move from tenants to landlords in more cities. With trophy building space limited, leasing activity in Q3 was particularly strong in Class A buildings. We’re seeing further trickle-over effect as leasing velocity is increasing in the areas neighbouring downtown cores, especially in Toronto.” — Marc Meehan, CBRE Canada Research Managing Director Board and Executive Compensation in the AI Industry "Equity is a defining feature of AI compensation, from the C-suite to the boardroom, and that reflects how directly AI companies are competing for the leadership talent this industry needs to scale. As Canadian AI companies scale and compete against better-capitalized U.S. peers for leadership talent, compensation strategy is one of the few levers boards can pull to win that competition.” — Amrit Sandhu, Client Partner – AI, Cleantech & the Built World, Bedford Group Get to Know MemberPerks Shipping a package, upgrading your laptops, booking a work trip? Your Toronto Region Board of Trade membership comes with MemberPerks by Venngo, a discount program that can help you save on everyday business and personal expenses, including: Shipping: Save with UPS and Purolator. Business technology: Get deals on Lenovo, Apple, and Samsung. Travel, for business or personal: Find savings on car rentals, hotels, flights, and train tickets, plus a VPN to keep your browsing secure on the road. Remote work: Set up your home office with a standing desk or Herman Miller furniture. Ready to start saving? Join our free webinar on October 22, Get to Know MemberPerks: How to Get Started & Live Demo, for a walkthrough of the platform and tips on how to start saving. Member Spotlight Whether business owners are counting down to retirement or can't imagine stepping away, putting off succession planning can leave their families, partners, and employees exposed. At a recent Toronto Region Board of Trade member workshop presented by CIBC, Brian Cabral, Estate Planning Specialist at CIBC Wood Gundy, walked business owners through practical strategies for passing on a business while protecting the wealth behind it. We asked him three questions about what it takes to ensure a smooth transition. 1. Owners often focus on finding a buyer and getting the price right. What part of selling a business that gets overlooked? "When a business is sold, some of the people who were most important to its success can feel slighted or blindsided. They weren't part of the decision-making, and they may have different motives or loyalties than the owner. I've seen it firsthand: the news broke, some of those people left, and that's bad for the buyer and bad for the seller. Sales often come with performance metrics that can adjust the price if they aren't met, so making sure those key people are taken care of and rewarded goes a long way for both sides." 2. Many business partners sign a shareholder agreement that requires one to buy out the other if something happens. Where do those agreements tend to fall short? "It's all well and good to agree to buy each other out, but how do you actually finance the deal? It's not as simple as going to the bank for a loan. Banks like to lend against cash flow, not assets, and if you lose a key person, they can get tentative about lending to the new ownership. That's why a term life insurance policy on each partner can work well. It's a cost-effective bridge for the length of time you expect to run the business, and the corporation can own it and pay for it." 3. When only some children are involved in the family business, how do parents make sure everyone is treated fairly? "Fair is not always equal. In a lot of family businesses, there's someone who's more involved in running the company and family members who are more passive, who might own a share but aren't employed there. Once the parents have passed, that can create animosity, because the sibling who was groomed to run the business may not want their siblings as partners. Sometimes it's better for the family to separate that arrangement, so the ones who want to run the company carry it forward and the others are bought out." Members: are you driving change in your industry? Contact your Relationship Manager to share your story with us and be featured. The Talk Track “Developers typically put up the money for infrastructure years before it’s built, and your opportunity cost of capital is in the range of 12 to 15 per cent. It can be up to seven years before that money comes back, when you finally sell a home. It’s massively inefficient and a hidden cost.” — Peter Gilgan, Founder and Chairman, Mattamy Homes Canada at Building in Uncertain Times: Keeping Housing Moving “Procurement is more than a business process. This is a practical way to turn commitment into opportunities and relationships into meaningful economic participation. Done well, it creates lasting benefit for Indigenous businesses, communities, and future generations.” — Stéphanie Vaillancourt, President, Canada, AtkinsRéalis at Building Together: Indigenous Partnership and Equity in Canada's Major Projects Events & Opportunities from Members Toronto Global Forum 2026 Join senior business and policy leaders at the Fairmont Royal York on Oct. 21–23 for three days of conversation on the global economy, with business-to-business meetings and networking. Toronto Region Board of Trade members can access discounted and complimentary delegate passes: 15 per cent off VIP passes, 50 per cent off regular passes that include lunches, receptions, and the B2B meeting platform, or complimentary passes that don't include those extras. Passes are limited, so contact your relationship manager to claim yours. Join the Conversation NOT A MEMBER? DISCOVER HOW MEMBERSHIP CAN WORK FOR YOU How did you enjoy this installment? Let us know! Our team reviews every response. 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