Banking at a Crossroads: The Competition Imperative for Canada’s Future
In a moment of economic uncertainty, Canada’s ability to drive economic growth at home has never been more critical. Successfully fostering competition here will play an essential role in making our economy more resilient in the face of rising challenges and threats.
With its acquisition of PC Financial, EQ Bank is scaling a new kind of challenger bank. One capable of competing at a national level and driving better outcomes for Canadians.
Join Canadian Club Toronto on May 5 when Chadwick Westlake, President & CEO of EQ Bank, will examine why competition in banking is central to Canada’s economic future and how EQ Bank plans to deliver it. Following his remarks, Amber Kanwar, host of In the Money, will join Chadwick on stage to continue the conversation.
The Livestream Is Not Live Yet
Thank you for joining us! The livestream is currently in a pre-event stage and has not started yet. Once the stream goes live, you'll be able to submit your questions to the presenters.
We appreciate your patience, and encourage you to stay tuned—things will kick off shortly! In the meantime, feel free to review the event details and get ready for the live session.
If you have any preliminary questions, feel free to note them down so you're ready to ask as soon as we go live.
We'll notify you here the moment the stream begins. Stay tuned!
Chadwick Westlake serves as EQB’s President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its Board of Directors. He brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience across banking and financial services, with a proven record of driving growth, innovation, and transformation in complex, high-performing organizations.
He previously served as EQB’s Chief Financial Officer during a formative period of growth, overseeing Enterprise Strategy and Corporate Development, Treasury and Securitization, Investor Relations, Legal and all core Finance functions. Under his leadership, EQ executed major strategic initiatives including the acquisition and integration of Concentra Bank, the addition of alternative asset manager ACM Advisors and the significant expansion of its funding capabilities and capital markets platform.
Prior to EQ, Chadwick held progressively senior roles at Scotiabank over an 18-year period across Canadian Banking, Wealth Management, International Banking, Global Banking & Markets and corporate functions including global risk management, operations and finance, where he last served as Executive Vice President of Enterprise Productivity & Canadian Banking Finance. Before rejoining EQ in August 2025 to become CEO, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the Canadian enterprise software company Open Text Corporation.
Leading with a true challenger mindset, Chadwick combines operational excellence with bold ambition to raise the bar for what Canadians should expect from their banks. His vision is to cement EQ’s position as Canada’s Challenger Bank and build a scaled, nation-defining institution that reimagines how individuals, families and businesses experience banking. With a clear focus on growth, customer impact and long-term value creation, he issteering EQ to set new standards in the industry while delivering leading growth for investors and shareholders.
A recognized leader in Canadian business, Chadwick was named one of Canada’s 2025 Best Executives by The Globe and Mail. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Management Studies from the University of Waterloo and completed an Executive Program with The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Chadwick sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and Coril Holdings.
Amber Kanwar is one of Canada’s top business journalists. For more than a decade she was an Anchor and Reporter at BNN Bloomberg. She is the host of In the Money with Amber Kanwar – a brand new investing podcast to help investors make profitable decisions in their portfolios. She has conducted hundreds of interviews with portfolio managers, CEOs, central bankers and politicians. She was also a regular contributor to Bloomberg and CTV. Kanwar holds a Bachelor of Arts in management and organizational studies from the University of Western Ontario, and a Masters in Journalism from Ryerson University.
