CPBI CEO outlines what's on next week's agenda at CPBI's record-breaking 2026 Forum
Plan sponsors and industry professionals are gearing up for the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute’s (CPBI)’s annual Forum next week, which returns to Quebec City for the first time since 2018.
While this year’s theme - Beyond Boundaries: The Journey to Discover, Adapt and Thrive - draws on Quebec's history of exploration, CPBI’s CEO Caroline Tison framed it as a response to the pressures bearing down on the pension and benefits industry.
"There's a lot going on and we need to adapt, we need to be mindful of what's happening and plan ahead and not just survive, but thrive through this," said Tison. "We want people to leave Forum with some practical ideas and tools that they can implement immediately.”
Four themes cut across this year’s agenda, Tison said, with AI being top of mind. AI is notably the most pervasive, surfacing in sessions on pension administration, investments, cybersecurity, workforce planning and governance. Tison believes the question is no longer whether AI will affect the industry but how organizations can deploy it responsibly and get their teams ready.
Meanwhile, workforce health has moved beyond the wellness checkbox into territory that touches productivity, retention and participation. Retirement is also being reconsidered as people live longer and exit the workforce in less predictable ways, and the industry is rethinking how to support employees through that transition, while the fourth theme - risk and uncertainty - runs through all of it, driven by geopolitics, shifting demographics and the compounding pressures that come with both.
One of CPBI’s notable sessions is the economic forecast, which is a perennial draw, Tison noted, but this year's session is likely to tilt harder toward geopolitics “than it typically would," she added, pointing to questions around the Federal Reserve and its independence, the direction of rates, and broader US policy shifts are all live topics, alongside private investments.
The Forum’s two featured keynotes are also designed to pull the audience outside its usual frame of reference, Tison noted. The opening keynote, underwater explorer Jill Heinerth, will draw on crisis situations and extreme environments to connect to how organizations handle uncertainty and enterprise risk management.
The second, critical care physician Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng – also known as Dr. K - brings a clinical lens to the consequences of poor health decisions and what prevention and resilience look like at both the personal and organizational level.
According to Tison, the programming behind the keynotes is the largest CPBI has assembled as this year’s Forum features 80 speakers and moderators, along with a sold-out, record attendance of 700 participants, with 400 in-person and 300 joining online.
Tison acknowledged the panels aren't built from inbound proposals alone as the team takes ideas, recruits additional voices and reshapes sessions to get the mix right.
“We really try to put focus and care into Forum to make sure the content is different and new and that hasn’t been presented before,” said Tison. “That's something about Forum that's important to us, that we're not there to recycle content and sessions. They're original content and sessions and we really try to get a mix of plan sponsors, experts and providers up on stage to make sure that we’re really appealing to our audience who work in this pretty vibrant sector.”
But for Tison, the highest-profile item on the final day is the launch of the Canadian Charter for Cancer and Work, developed with the Quebec Coalition for Cancer, Tison noted. A noon fireside chat will feature the first organizations signing on, followed by a press conference.
The document, Tison suggests, is intended to improve how employers handle cancer treatment, support the colleagues covering during an absence, and improve the chances of a successful return to work. It also ties into a separate session on chronic illness in the workplace.
"We're really, really proud to work with the Quebec Coalition for Cancer on that and make this charter available across the country," she said.
Meanwhile, the social aspect of the program is anchored by Monday's tailgate night, sponsored by Sun Life, which this year features giant table pong and a brackets tournament. Tuesday brings a performance from a well-known Quebec musical family. Morning yoga is also on offer for those who want it as are the networking opportunities which CPBI conferences are renowned for, said Tison.
As for the choice of Quebec City as a host city, Tison acknwoledged the decision is deliberate rather than incidental because it shapes both logistics and theme. The organization rotates the Forum between east, west and central regions, and adjusts the rotation in years that already feature a Western regional conference, so that attendees across the country get a reasonable shot at attending at least one in-person event.
"I don't know if it's a science, it's more of an art," she said.
When asked what a first-time attendee should expect to walk away with, Tison said, "new connections and new information,” adding the bigger measure is whether the content holds up after the room empties.
"Forum will be a success if people walk away with just being able to go back to their organizations feeling a little bit more prepared or equipped for what's coming down the line," she said.
