Chief executives across Canada’s major banks are enthusiastically touting the benefits of artificial intelligence, highlighting dramatic efficiency gains while questions linger over the long-term impact on employment. Scotiabank CEO Scott Thomson noted that AI saved the institution roughly 24,000 days of work over a four-and-a-half-month period, while TD Bank CEO Raymond Chun stated that the time required to pre-process mortgages plummeted from about 15 hours to three minutes. Bank of Montreal CEO Darryl White highlighted that predictive AI modeling allows the bank’s insurance business to underwrite decisions in 10 seconds, compared to an industry standard of at least 28 days. Canada’s Big Five banks collectively employ nearly 400,000 full-time-equivalent workers. A study from Toronto Metropolitan University indicates that 98 percent of financial sector workers experience high exposure to AI technologies, far surpassing the estimated 56 percent for the broader Canadian workforce. Furthermore, the Bank of Canada recently estimated that one-third of jobs could undergo substantial transformations due to AI integration. Despite billions of dollars invested in the technology, industry analysts point out that widespread headcount reductions have not yet materialized, though lower-skilled positions and entry-level tasks face growing uncertainty. While bank representatives emphasize that AI serves as an enhancement rather than a complete replacement for human labor, employment experts express generational anxieties regarding junior positions traditionally handled by entry-level workers. Conversely, some executives, such as CIBC CEO Harry Culham, project overall headcount growth in the coming years as the organization incorporates AI tools across its operations.
Source: cbc.ca
