Eight in 10 Canadian business leaders can now measure their AI returns, but legacy systems are slowing the value payoff
Canadian chief executives have largely moved past the question of whether artificial intelligence delivers results - the new challenge is making those results stick.
According to EY-Parthenon Canada's fall 2026 CEO Outlook Survey, 82 per cent of Canadian CEOs say they can assess AI return on investment with reasonable or greater confidence, a signal that the technology has graduated from experiment to enterprise priority.
The survey, which polled 50 Canadian chief executives across financial services, industrials, consumer health, and technology sectors between August and September 2026, found that half of respondents are reinvesting AI-driven productivity gains into future growth, innovation, or transformation. A further 22 per cent are directing those gains toward workforce reskilling and capability development.
"The challenge is no longer whether AI can increase productivity," said Shane Dunn, managing partner of EY-Parthenon Canada. "It's how effectively organizations can hold on to those gains and use them to reinvest in the next wave of Canadian business growth."
Productivity gains are real - but not always captured
The clearest sign of productivity improvement, according to 40 per cent of surveyed CEOs, is higher output without any increase in headcount or capital investment. Process redesign and automation were cited by 46 per cent as the top driver of productivity gains over the past 12 months, narrowly ahead of AI-enabled tools and applications at 44 per cent.
Yet nearly a quarter of respondents (22 per cent) say their productivity gains are being absorbed by organisational complexity, regulatory requirements, or new work demands rather than converted into value. The single biggest barrier identified is legacy technology and outdated operating models, cited by 36 per cent of CEOs as the primary constraint on turning efficiency into measurable business performance.
This tension between capability and infrastructure is one that Canadian wealth management and financial services firms know well. As financial services has been identified as one of the most AI-exposed industries globally, the pressure to convert AI ambition into operational results has intensified considerably in 2026.
The EY-Parthenon findings align with a broader pattern emerging across Canada's advisory and institutional sectors. Research from CGI released in June 2026 found that enterprise AI readiness is lagging behind adoption rates, with 52 per cent of executives reporting that talent shortages are materially affecting program delivery and execution.
Growth strategy shifts toward partnerships over deals
Beyond AI, the survey reveals a notable shift in how Canadian executives are approaching growth. Traditional mergers and acquisitions remain on the table for 48 per cent of CEOs over the next 12 months, but that appetite has softened since May 2026, when M&A interest stood at 62 per cent - a 14 percentage point decline.
In its place, appetite for strategic alliances has surged from 32 per cent to 62 per cent over the same period, while joint venture interest climbed 12 percentage points to 44 per cent.
The shift reflects a preference for shared-risk growth structures in an environment still shaped by macroeconomic volatility and regulatory uncertainty - the two most-cited headwinds facing Canadian business over the next 12 months, alongside cybersecurity threats.
On the organic side, CEOs are focusing on customer experience enhancement, operational efficiency, and product and business model innovation, each cited by roughly a third of respondents as a top growth priority.
AI is increasingly underpinning transaction decisions as well. Among CEOs already applying the technology to deals, 60 per cent are using it for market and competitive intelligence, 50 per cent for risk assessment and compliance reviews, and 48 per cent for financial analysis and valuation. Despite this, 46 per cent of surveyed companies remain in the piloting phase of AI adoption for transaction evaluation - suggesting that the integration of AI into deal-making is still maturing.
Talent shortages emerging as next growth constraint
Looking ahead, the survey surfaces a longer-term concern that will resonate across the wealth management sector. A majority of CEOs - 68 per cent combining "strongly agree" and "agree" responses - believe that within three years, skills shortages will represent a larger barrier to growth than access to capital. A further 58 per cent expect AI to have a greater impact on employees' roles and how work is organised than on reducing overall workforce size.
The EY-Parthenon findings suggest the most pressing priority for Canadian business leaders - including those in wealth and financial services - is not adopting more AI, but building the organisational capacity to capture and sustain the value it already generates.
The EY-Parthenon Canada CEO Outlook Survey fall 2026 is based on responses from 50 Canadian CEOs surveyed in August and September 2026.
