{"id":183713,"date":"2025-11-17T15:30:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/?post_type=content&p=183713"},"modified":"2025-12-03T11:43:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T16:43:39","slug":"what-digital-prosperity-really-means-for-canada","status":"publish","type":"content","link":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/en\/content\/business\/what-digital-prosperity-really-means-for-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"What “Digital Prosperity” really means for Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I say the word \u201cprosperity,\u201d where does your mind go? If you\u2019re like most people, you might think of numbers: financial wealth, good-paying jobs, affordability, access to capital. But increasingly, I think the real story is the human lives behind those numbers\u2014the newcomer sending money home, the small business owner invoicing clients online, the student applying for school, the retiree verifying their benefits. Do they feel confident, empowered, and safe navigating those digital moments that shape everyday life across Canada?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember arriving in Canada as a teenager in the 1980s. Like many immigrants, I had to quickly learn how things worked\u2014how to get a health card, open a bank account, find my way in a new environment. It wasn\u2019t always easy, but I was lucky to land in a country where I felt encouraged to participate, not pressured to assimilate. That experience gave me a deep and lasting appreciation for systems that are open, accessible, and built with the user in mind\u2014an outlook I\u2019ve carried with me through more than 30 years working in digital commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Interac, we talk about digital prosperity as our North Star. On one hand, that means a modern, thriving economy for Canada. But just as important, it means a system where people feel confident and comfortable as they move through it. In today\u2019s world, financial well-being and digital engagement are like plug and socket\u2014interdependent by design. You can\u2019t fully participate in the economy if you\u2019re not connected to it digitally. And you can\u2019t build financial confidence<\/a> if the systems around you are unfamiliar, inaccessible, or untrustworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t have to look far to find an example. My husband is an upholsterer who has spent years perfecting his craftsmanship and skill. He\u2019s incredibly talented and his business does just fine, but he\u2019d be the first to admit that digital tools aren\u2019t his thing\u2014he\u2019s a bit of a Luddite. Even for him, it\u2019s become harder and harder to operate offline. Sending invoices, managing payments, communicating with clients\u2014all of it takes place online now. Slowly but surely, he\u2019s had to grow his digital confidence. Fortunately, he\u2019s well-established, with loyal customers and years of experience behind him. But what if he were just starting out today? What if he didn\u2019t have that foundation to fall back on? In today\u2019s economy, it\u2019s nearly impossible to grow a business, or even run one efficiently, without being digitally engaged. Prosperity is about giving people the confidence, tools, and trust they need to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when I say people, I mean all people<\/em>. We must treat inclusion not as an afterthought but as something designed from the start. Whether someone is born here, emigrates here, studies or works here, they should have secure, digital access to the services and opportunities that mark each stage of life. Getting a birth certificate, opening a bank account, applying for a loan, filing taxes, volunteering in your community\u2014these should all be part of a clear, supported digital journey. That inclusion also means respecting people\u2019s rights. It means safeguarding their data, protecting their privacy, and ensuring that control stays with the individual here on Canadian soil, not with foreign institutions or platforms that don\u2019t reflect our values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve long believed one of Canada\u2019s biggest strengths\u2014our secret sauce\u2014is our model of public-private collaboration. We\u2019re not a country that dictates transformation. We work together. That\u2019s our quiet advantage. The systems we build\u2014finance, healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, manufacturing, education\u2014reflect the richness and diversity of our economy and institutions. We can design solutions that are resilient, inclusive, and highly trusted. Other countries are moving fast, and there\u2019s plenty to learn from them\u2014India with Aadhaar and UPI, Brazil with Pix, Malaysia with MyDigital ID, the Nordics with their digital ID systems\u2014but we don\u2019t need to import anyone else\u2019s blueprint. We can build a model that works for Canada, and that embraces innovation while staying true to who we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we are ready. We have the right ingredients\u2014a highly educated population, trusted institutions, deep technical expertise, and strong consumer protections. What\u2019s been missing is a sense of urgency. But that\u2019s starting to change. Around the world, the pace of innovation is accelerating\u2014AI adoption is advancing, programmable money is becoming real, agentic commerce is reshaping how businesses and consumers interact. At the same time, geopolitical uncertainty and growing digital competition are forcing countries to take a harder look at their own infrastructure. Here at home, we\u2019re seeing a renewed willingness to act. There\u2019s recognition that we can\u2019t afford to be passive participants in the next wave of innovation. We won\u2019t always have perfect regulation, but we can\u2019t let that stop us. We have to build as we go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I imagine a digitally prosperous Canada five or ten years from now, I see a place where verification is seamless, where digital interactions are fast and secure, and where people feel empowered to take part, whether they\u2019re opening a business, sending money to pay for their kid\u2019s daycare, or accessing government services. I see a future where the systems that enable our economy reflect Canadian choices on privacy, security, and inclusion. Where innovation happens on Canadian rails, under Canadian rules, with Canadian values at the core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosperity in this context is about economic growth, yes. But it\u2019s also about trust, access, and control. It\u2019s about ensuring that no one is left behind, and that every Canadian has the tools they need to move forward. If there\u2019s one message I could share with policymakers, business leaders, and innovators alike, it\u2019s this: the time is now for Canada to lead with purpose and make sure that digital prosperity is built by Canadians, for Canadians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I say the word \u201cprosperity,\u201d where does your mind go? If you\u2019re like most people, you might think of numbers: financial wealth, good-paying jobs, affordability, access to capital. But increasingly, I think the real story is the human lives behind those numbers\u2014the newcomer sending money home, the small business owner invoicing clients online, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":183714,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"content-tags":[952],"content-category":[189],"spokespeople":[635],"in_the_know_post_format":[169],"class_list":["post-183713","content","type-content","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","content-tags-enterprise-and-government","content-category-business","spokespeople-debbie-gamble","in_the_know_post_format-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat "Digital Prosperity" really means for Canada - Interac<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore how digital prosperity drives innovation, inclusion, and economic growth in Canada. 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