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.
- 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.
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.
Agenda
8:30 - 9:00 am: Registration and Networking Breakfast
9:00 - 9:10 am: Welcome Remarks
- Giles Gherson, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade
9:10 - 9:20 am: Keynote Address: Global Market Reality
- Seetarama (Swamy) Kotagiri, CEO, Magna International (virtual)
9:20 - 9:25 am: Fireside Chat Introduction
9:25 - 9:50 am: Fireside Chat: National and Provincial Investment Environment
- Moderator: John Stackhouse, Senior Vice President, Office of the CEO, RBC
9:50 - 9:55 am: Panel 1 Introduction
9:55 - 10:30 am: Panel 1- Retooling Under Uncertainty: The Supplier Reality
10:30 - 10:50 am: Networking Break
10:50 - 10:55 am: Panel 2 Intro
10:55 - 11:30 am: Panel 2- Advanced Manufacturing as a Competitive Advantage
11:30 - 11:35 am: Closing Keynote Intro
11:35 - 11:45 am: Closing Keynote
11:45 am - 12:00 pm: Closing Remarks
- Giles Gherson, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade
Speakers
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John Stackhouse
Senior Vice-President, Office of the CEO, RBC
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Seetarama (Swamy) Kotagiri
CEO
Magna International
Tickets & Registration
Members
- Single Ticket: $149
- Table of 10: $1,490
Non-Members
- Single Ticket: $199
- Table of 10: $1,990