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Agentic AI can free employees to focus on the high-value, relationship-driven work that drives long-term growth.Getty Images
Canada is currently in the middle of a defining economic moment. The old playbook of steady growth and managed risk was built for a world that simply no longer exists. I have spent nearly twenty years working alongside Canadian CEOs, founders and leaders from every sector and in the conversations I am having right now, from Bay Street boardrooms to Vancouver’s tech corridor, there is a shared recognition that the ground has shifted. Geopolitical disruption, trade volatility and a productivity gap that the Bank of Canada has called an “emergency” are all converging at once.
The question I keep hearing from my peers is not whether to act, but how. In this country, we have always worn our prudence as a badge of honour. It is what makes our institutions stable. However, in the current climate, the most prudent path isn’t standing still; it is moving with intention. Part of the answer lies in agentic AI. If we move decisively, Canada can secure a strategic edge that allows our businesses to compete and win on the global stage.
Investing in the Canadian intelligence hub
At Salesforce, our commitment to Canada is more than just a talking point. It is backed by more than $2-billion invested in the country. With thousands of employees across six cities and a long history of partnership with both the public and private sectors, we don’t just operate in the country; we are a dedicated engine for its growth.
From our early acquisition of Radian6 to the Vancouver-founded powerhouse Slack, and our strategic investments in domestic leaders like Cohere, 1Password and OneVest, we are deeply woven into this country’s innovation economy. This is also why we have made significant investments in data residency through Hyperforce, which helps enable our customers to store and process their data within Canada’s borders across a growing number of Salesforce clouds and services.
We see Canada as a global leader in the AI era, standing right alongside hubs like San Francisco and London. But for our broader business community to reap the rewards, we have to shift our mindset from managing AI as a risk to fuelling it as a driver of growth.
From efficiency to agency
The productivity crisis won’t be solved if we treat agentic AI as just another tech solution to save an employee five minutes on an email or better manage a contact list. This moment demands a fundamental shift in how we define a workforce. It also makes economic sense. Recent research from the IDC Digital Labour report estimates the cumulative economic impact of digital labour in Canada is projected to reach C$413.7 billion by 2030.
Our agentic solutions remove the structural friction that has historically limited business growth by closing the gap between strategy and execution. We partner with businesses to help them plug into an enterprise-wide operating system that executes work at a speed and scale that wasn’t possible before.
Unlike the digital assistants of the past, agents represent a leap from mere support to true agency. These are autonomous, sophisticated digital teammates designed to handle complex operations with human-level reasoning, all while staying anchored in your specific data and security standards. Managed with human oversight, agents can help a manufacturing firm to optimize a cross-border supply chain, a health care provider to automate complex patient triage and scheduling, or a retailer to scale customer service across multiple time zones. This frees your people to focus on the high-value, relationship-driven work that actually drives long-term growth.
We are already seeing this impact with some of our largest partners. RBC Wealth Management is a prime example of moving from the superficial to the applied. Launched in just six weeks, the company’s first AI agent for client meeting prep helps financial advisors prepare for client meetings faster, more thoroughly, and with less effort. What used to take at least an hour of digging through client data and past interactions now takes less than a minute. That is an hour returned to the human element of the business, allowing for more high value activities and deeper client relationships.
Our shared moment
For a decade, we have accepted a national productivity baseline of less than 1 per cent. We have often called it “the Canadian way” to be cautious and to wait and see. But I believe our true Canadian way is found in our resilience and our world-class talent. We are the most educated country in the G7 and we already have AI talent hubs that the rest of the world envies. We have the bench strength to be the world’s most efficient economy; we just need to give our people the tools to play at their highest level.
The agentic mandate is an invitation to trade the friction of the past for a future of long-term growth, but only if you build on the right foundation. Think of it like buying a home. You wouldn’t skip the inspection or go without insurance. A smart buyer always thinks ahead. The best homes aren’t just safe, they’re designed to grow with you. Our agentic platform works the same way: secure, scalable and built to meet your needs on your business growth journey.
Incremental progress is no longer enough, because I’ve seen what this country is capable of when we decide to lead. This is Canada’s moment. Let’s stop piloting the future and start building it – on our own terms, with our own values, and at the scale our country deserves.
Advertising feature produced by Salesforce. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.
