TORONTO
National Bank of Canada chief executive Laurent Ferreira is urging the federal government to scrap and rewrite the country's tax code to attract capital and talent.
Ferreira said the system is overly complex and burdens companies, especially small businesses that lack the resources to handle the rules.
"Having a goal to simplify it and make it competitive would be something that our government and provinces should work on together," Ferreira said at an event held by the Canadian Club Toronto on Wednesday.
He called on Ottawa to assemble a small team of tax experts with a one-year mandate to create what he called the "simplest, most efficient and most competitive tax jurisdiction of all developed countries."
"Our goals should be well-aligned on this because it's all about making our environment much more friendlier for capital," Ferreira said.
He said decades have passed since significant reform, with layers of new policies, subsidies and special provisions making the rules very complex.
As an example, he pointed to research and development subsidies, where many of the bank's clients find the application process so complicated they opt out entirely.
"The intention is to incentivize innovation, but the process to get the incentive is so complex that we sometimes don't bother," Ferreira said.
He said decisions on capital allocation move fast, and Canada needs to move faster to attract investment and take advantage of demand for defence and critical minerals.
Ferreira is part of a chorus of experts who have called for tax reform and has said the federal government should consider adjusting tax regulations to support growth and help "recycle" capital gains into businesses.
He said Ottawa has introduced new regulatory measures that are rebuilding Canada's reputation as "a serious country" and a profitable place to invest, including Prime Minister Mark Carney's proposal to accelerate project-approval timelines.
However, the greatest threat to Ottawa's ambitions is a lack of skilled labour and slower immigration, he added.
"Access to skilled labour is the biggest problem right now," Ferreira said.
In a presentation at the same event, National Bank chief economist Stéfane Marion said labour shortages in construction could compromise federal plans to build infrastructure quickly.
Ferreira also addressed the impact of artificial intelligence, saying roles will change but he expects the bank to have more employees in 10 years.
"Now one thing is certain. We won't replace the bank's advisory role with a script generated by artificial intelligence," he said. "AI won't replace the bank's pricing decisions, capital allocation or judgment."
National Bank is conducting a strategic review focused on improving its performance, with plans to be unveiled in December.
Ferreira said the bank plans to expand its capital markets unit internationally, gain market share in commercial banking across Canada, and evolve its personal banking model to address growing competition.
The call for tax reform comes as the federal government seeks to attract foreign capital for critical projects. e2gold.ca reported in October that Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford pledged $9 billion for industries hit by U.S. tariffs.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by The Globe and Mail and Bloomberg.com. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.