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Beating the Competition: Ontario Auto Forum 2026

Ontario’s auto industry is at a tipping point as it faces rising costs, shifting investment, and strained supply chains that demands urgent, coordinated action now.

This event is sold out.

Member Price: $149 (Save $50)

Non-Member Price: $199

Presenting Partner:

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SixtyEight Event Venue, 40 King St W, 68th Floor, Toronto

In Person

Ontario’s automotive sector is under real threat.

Investment is shifting to competing jurisdictions. Costs are rising. Productivity gaps are widening. Supply chains are under strain. The conditions that once made Ontario a global automotive leader can no longer be taken for granted. What happens next will determine whether the sector is revitalized or continues to lose ground.

The pressures facing Canada’s manufacturing sector have intensified, but nowhere are they more acute than in automotive. Firms are making critical decisions now about where to invest, where to scale, and where to pull back. Capital is increasingly mobile. Other jurisdictions are aggressively implementing incentives, infrastructure, and polies designed to attract new investments. Ontario’s auto sector faces an existential crisis.

Maintaining a strong automotive base will require more than incremental improvements. It will require coordinated action across industry, government, and financial institutions to address structural challenges and restore competitiveness. This event is a moment to address this critical problem through coordinated solutions.

Discussions will focus on:

  • Operational and Capital Pressures: Rising costs, constrained financing, and global competition are reshaping the economics of manufacturing in Ontario. 
  • Ecosystem Breakdown and Coordination Gaps: Fragmentation across supply chains, capital, and institutions is limiting productivity and slowing response. 
  • Investment Flight and Competitiveness Risk: Without the right conditions, capital will continue to flow to more competitive jurisdictions. 
  • Pathways to Recovery and Growth: Where targeted action, technology adoption, and cross-sector partnerships can stabilize and strengthen the sector.

Attend if you're...

A manufacturer, supplier, or industry leader across the automotive value chain, including OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2+ suppliers, tooling, automation, or systems integration, looking to stay competitive in a rapidly shifting market.

A business or financial decision-maker, including capital markets clients and loan users, seeking insights on investment trends, cost pressures, and growth opportunities in Ontario’s auto sector.

A representative from an industry association, manufacturing organization, or think tank focused on strengthening Canada’s industrial base and advancing sector-wide policy and innovation.

A technology provider, including industrial AI and advanced manufacturing solutions firms, looking to connect with manufacturers and support their digital transformation and productivity journey.

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