GRI’s Women in Risk Management Toronto event convened financial sector leaders from industry and government to explore the evolving risk landscape. Members in attendance gained actionable insights from industry practitioners, regulators and external experts. Participants also benefited from engaging with peers and the opportunity to forge meaningful connections.

Navigating the Current Landscape

The Honourable Anita Anand opened the event with a keynote on geopolitical risk and leadership, reflecting on her career journey from academia and law to key government roles. She emphasized the strategic skills required to manage the increasingly complex Canada–U.S. trade relationship and global uncertainties. The Minister provided examples from her political career to stress the importance of teamwork and collaboration, and illustrate a path forward for Canada.

Managing Third-Party Risks in a Connected World

An industry panel on third-party risk management highlighted the sector’s growing dependence on technology providers and outsourced critical services. The discussion touched on the importance of compliance with OSFI’s updated Guideline B-10, and the panelists offered insights for strengthening oversight and operational resilience. These included:

• The importance of addressing concentration risk
• The risks associated with third parties’ subcontractors
• The challenges in assessing third parties’ contingency plans
• The difficulty in determining the criticality of a given third party
• The importance of being inquisitive

Strengthening Cybersecurity Posture against Foreign Interference Threat

Rounding out the event was a panel discussion addressing cybersecurity and the threat of foreign interference. Law enforcement representatives joined security specialists from industry for a lively discussion on the rapidly evolving threat actors, the growing need for industry-wide and cross-sector collaboration, and active participation from government officials to increase the resilience of critical systems and data.

Panelists agreed that AI and other technological advances have elevated the level of cyber risk, and that public-private partnerships and information sharing are critical to containing the threat. Bad actors have a host of new tools, and industry and law enforcement need their own new tools to fight back, including better legislation, tougher sentencing on cybercrimes, and organizational investments in proactive risk measures.