Supply chain resilience tops list of pressures facing Canadian CEOs: KPMG

Supply chain resilience has emerged as the top pressure driving short-term decisions for Canadian CEOs, according to KPMG in Canada’s 2025 CEO Outlook.

The survey of the country’s largest and most influential business leaders found that amid ongoing economic uncertainty, CEOs are focused on building productivity and resilience, particularly through the active use of artificial intelligence (AI).

AI was cited as the top investment priority for 78 per cent of Canadian CEOs, in line with global findings. The same share of respondents also said they are rethinking how employees are trained for the AI era, though only 17 per cent believe their organizations are fully equipped to upskill staff.

“Canadian CEOs are turning to new tools to redefine success and transform their business at a time when stickhandling through heightened uncertainty becomes increasingly more difficult,” said Benjie Thomas, chief executive officer and senior partner, KPMG in Canada. “The challenge is, being disciplined in their capital deployment to ensure AI aligns with their business strategy, implemented appropriately and integrated into their operations to ensure material productivity gains. This can’t be done without employee buy-in, training and literacy.”

KPMG found that “understanding and implementing AI” ranked as the top operational priority for Canadian CEOs over the next three years, with nearly three-quarters planning to invest between 10 and 20 per cent of their budgets in AI over the next 12 months.

“It’s impossible to move the dial on productivity without addressing business investment, which is why it’s encouraging to see CEOs invest in AI tools that can reverse productivity declines,” Thomas said.

Timothy Prince, Canadian managing partner for clients and markets at KPMG, said effective integration starts with people. “By embracing the possibilities rather than fearing the unknown, business leaders can position AI as more than just a productivity tool – it can help transform the organization by enhancing and expanding the abilities, creativity and impact of employees and driving innovation,” he said.

Prince added that when properly deployed, AI can already strengthen “supply chain resilience, mitigate cybersecurity risks and detect fraudulent activity,” among other benefits.

To mitigate business risks, Canadian CEOs said they plan to increase investments in cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, AI governance and ethics and operational continuity.

“It’s a tough environment, with a lot of uncertainty for businesses whether it’s from trade relations to the next cyberattack to emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing to new regulations,” Prince said. “The natural reaction to uncertainty is to pause investments but what we’re hearing from our clients and what the surveys bear out is that they are continuing to invest in areas that will make them stronger, more agile and ultimately more resilient.”

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