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Month: February 2025

Data breaches are on the rise – and Canadians expect their businesses to be prepared

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In a polarized, digital first, and deeply interconnected economy and society, data breaches are on the rise from both a frequency and cost perspective. PwC’s 2025 Global Digital Trust Insights survey found that the average cost to an organization of a data breach has risen to $3.32 million per incident. Their increasing frequency has not resulted in increasing acceptance.

Canadians are more concerned, more alert, and more judgemental of the enterprises they interact with when it comes to protecting their data. Exclusive research from Navigator reveals that 85% of Canadians are worried about data breaches with 66% reporting increased concern compared to three years ago. For industries handling sensitive information, the concern level is even more acute.

Concern Around Data Breaches Per Industry

Growing concern is stacked on top of an absence of trust, with only 40% of respondents believing that businesses affected by breaches have adequately addressed customer concerns or resolved issues. Is this anxiety fueled by high-profile incidents such as the Canada Revenue Agency and Ticketmaster breaches? Likely in part.

But it’s amplified by some of the driving technological changes of the day – changes that are only intensifying.

  • Widespread adoption of artificial intelligence has struck a nerve, with 70% of Canadians expressing that the technology poses a greater risk compared to just 39% who see it as a valuable tool for preventing breaches.
  • Concern over state-sponsored threats is growing with 71% of Canadians believing that state-sponsored cyber threats will increase over the next five years and 65% expressing concern that Canadian entities are vulnerable to such breaches.
  • The rise of ransomware extortion poses complex legal, ethical, and financial questions. While the Government of Canada does not recommend ransom payments, 77% of Canadians agree that it is important to pay ransom (when applicable) to prevent or limit the spread of customer information.

Forging a Path Forward

Despite these challenges, every business has the opportunity to do right by doing right, showcasing to their customers, employees and stakeholders that they have responded swiftly, with transparency and speed. Specifically:

  • 93% of Canadians emphasized the importance of enhancing security measures, including implementing new systems, conducting staff training, and reviewing policies.
  • 92% believe businesses should offer free credit monitoring and conduct a thorough, transparent investigation.
  • 92% highlighted the importance of notifying clients immediately.

While every scenario brings its own qualities, we remind Canadian organizations to use the following principles in preparation for and response to a breach.

  1. Speed beats perfection, preparation enhances speed: As soon as you are aware of a breach, the clock is ticking on your first notification to affected stakeholders. Timely transparency is critical to maintaining trust. Simple and cost-effective preparatory steps can go a long way in building out your crisis and cyber response capabilities.
  2. Lead from the front: Activate an integrated crisis response team led by a decisive C-suite leader. Streamline communications by appointing a single spokesperson to manage messaging and maintain consistency.
  3. Develop, practice and implement a crisis management framework: It’s not a question of if, but when. Prepare for the inevitable with a tailored, practiced crisis communications plan, cyber incident response plan and business continuity plan that leaves guesswork at the door when a breach occurs. Regular exercising of these plans is critical.
  4. Engage with Key Stakeholders: Communicate proactively with employees, customers, partners, and regulators. Trust is rebuilt when stakeholders are at the heart of decision-making.
  5. Provide tangible support to affected customers: Canadians need to see you work to protect their data. Free credit monitoring, identity theft protection, or the establishment of a dedicated hotline can showcase your commitment to customers and their recovery, reinforcing your organization’s accountability.
  6. Find and communicate remedial steps: Take immediate action to strengthen your defences. Upgrading systems, conducting audits, and training employees sends a clear message: your organization is serious about preventing future breaches.
  7. Leverage external experts: Bring in trusted professionals, like Navigator, PwC, and a legal breach coach to validate your response. Highlighting external expertise reassures stakeholders and demonstrates your commitment to professional recovery.
  8. Monitor and manage public sentiment: Track media and social sentiment to gauge public reactions. Use these insights to refine your messaging, ensuring it is empathetic, nuanced, and aligned with stakeholder expectations.
  9. Share lessons learned: Be transparent about how you addressed the breach and what improvements have been made. Sharing lessons learned demonstrates accountability and positions your organization as a leader in trust recovery.
  10. Conduct a post-crisis response and reputation audit: Evaluate your response, stakeholder sentiment, and reputational risks. Use these insights to refine strategies, rebuild trust, and strengthen your crisis management framework.

Want to learn more?

Looking to gain deeper insights and better understand how to prepare your organization to effectively respond to and recover from a data breach? Connect with one of our experts today. Book a consultation by contacting us at info@navltd.com or ca_incident_response@pwc.com

Download a copy of the research summary below:

The real play behind Karina Gould’s Liberal leadership bid

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I understand the temptation.

When you stack Karina Gould’s qualifications to become the next leader of her party and Prime Minister of Canada beside the likes of Mark Carney or Chrystia Freeland, one can easily conclude that the only valid question for this candidate is: what the hell is she thinking?

This line of inquiry, which constitutes about 99.9 per cent of the commentary I’ve read about her candidacy, whilst perhaps understandable, is also spectacularly short-sighted.

Political success isn’t about who looks best on paper. Thank God for that. But more crucially: neither is it always about the race right in front of you. Sometimes, the real game is the next one — the bigger picture. And in that sense, Karina Gould has positioned herself brilliantly.

No doubt, that’s precisely why it’s so easy to tell two wildly different stories about this candidate.

The first goes something like this: she’s too young, too green, too much of a long shot. In a word, quixotic. Despite clearing the first two $50,000 financial hurdles, she struggled to clear the far larger $125,000 third hurdle, and she’ll no doubt find it challenging to meet subsequent targets as the race progresses.

That’s the easy narrative, and the one that goes a long way to explain why many believe she won’t, in fact, come even close to becoming our next Prime Minister.

But there’s another story at play. And it’s one most have overlooked.

Karina Gould represents the future of the Liberal Party of Canada.

She has a record of real achievement, most notably championing the national $10-a-day child care strategy — a policy that will fundamentally improve the country for generations. The youngest female cabinet minister in Canadian history, over the past decade she has served as Minister of Democratic Institutions, Minister of International Development, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and most recently, Government Leader in the House of Commons, the most demanding job in a minority Parliament.

Her age isn’t a liability — it’s an asset. At 37, she embodies the now largest voting bloc in the country: Millennials. Her presence signals generational renewal and energy.

Her French is stronger than both Carney’s and Freeland’s — a critical advantage in a party where Quebec support can make or break a leadership race.

And most importantly, she is genuine to the core — an increasingly rare quality in Canadian politics.

Of course, these are all impressive credentials. But none are as crucial to her long-term success as the sheer political instinct she’s demonstrating by running in this race.

Because — make no mistake — while she risks the hard scrutiny that comes with a contest of this magnitude, she also gains two invaluable political assets.

First, national profile and experience.

Second, and far more importantly, strategic leverage.

Given the unique preferential ballot structure of this leadership race and the reality that this is likely to turn into a two-horse race between Carney and Freeland, Gould is positioning herself — and her supporters — as the king or queen maker.

That’s a powerful place to be. And you can bet that neither Carney nor Freeland will utter a single negative word about her over the next few weeks. They both know she holds the key to their fortunes.

When a party is at risk of being reduced to ashes in the way the Liberals may well be, you’re not just looking for a leader — you’re looking for a spark. Some ember that’s still glowing in the grassroots of the party, something that can catch and grow into something bigger.

While I see experience, command of the issues, and steady hands from both Carney and Freeland, what I don’t see is the sign of momentum or the kind of energy that stirs something new.

But in Gould’s campaign? I do.

The people behind her at campaign events look like they actually want to be there. The people standing behind Carney and Freeland? I’m sorry to say, they look like they’re being held hostage.

Karina Gould may well lose this battle. But she’s playing a much longer game — and setting herself up brilliantly for it.

And in my view, that’s anything but tilting at windmills. That’s laying the foundation for the real fight ahead.

Doug Ford has to convince Ontarians he is their protector

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Ontario is going to the polls in late February to decide which party, and which party leader, will helm the province for the next four years. As we are still early in the campaign, the Star asked four political commentators to weigh in on what each leader needs to do over the coming weeks to give their party a chance at winning.

My editor has asked me to answer a simple question: How can Doug Ford’s PCs win—and win bigger?

I’m not sure I’m best to answer this question. When Mr. Ford and I faced off as leaders of dueling campaigns during the 2010 mayoral election—he not only beat me, he crushed me.

What’s more, the Progressive Conservative leader enjoys a substantial, some would say unsurmountable, lead in the polls.

But here goes.

The temptation will be to frame the ballot question as “Which of the party leaders do you trust to go head-to-head with Donald Trump and win?” That would be a mistake. It would be akin to looking for someone to tame a tornado.

The president is not a rational actor and it is a fool’s errand to think that anyone can effectively go toe-to-toe with him. It is a battle you won’t win because it is a battle that can’t be won.

Rather, if Ford wants to win and win big, then the ballot question needs to be: “Which of the leaders do you trust to protect you, your family and Ontario from the economic shocks of the Trump administration?”

It is framing the question this way that will see the PCs returned to the legislature with a strengthened majority.

And it is a question which is, simply put, a gift to Ford and his campaign.

The chaos that has emerged from south of the border has provoked both fury and fear in Canadians — including Ontarians — unlike anything in recent memory.

Ontarians are looking for their leaders to stand up for them, to be sure. Matching tariffs, border-state diplomacy, ad campaigns aimed at American voters, and business-to-business pressure are all necessary tactics. Those deal with the fury.

But the fear must also be addressed. And that’s where Ontarians are looking to their own province’s leaders to protect them. Because it’s not just theoretical macroeconomic shocks that has them worried; rather, it is the price shock of suddenly more expensive gas, groceries and other imported products that has them up at night.

No question, calling an early election is always a risk. But the timing of the political contest comes with a calculated set of strategic advantages for the PCs:

  1. With Justin Trudeau and the Liberals still in power federally, the PCs can rely on oppositional sentiment toward Trudeau.
  2. Doug Ford, personally, has never been so popular. Just look at how comfortably he has assumed the face of the “Team Canada” response.
  3. The PCs have a major cash advantage that will allow them to dominate the airwaves.
  4. Liberal operatives are distracted by the federal leadership race. Case in point: they’ve been slow to nominate candidates in key ridings.
  5. The government’s fiscal situation is not going to improve anytime soon—and economic tensions with the United States won’t help. Things might not be great now, but they won’t be any better in fifteen months, when Ford would have had to call this election anyway.

Taken together, these factors will undoubtedly be major contributors should the PCs win re-election.

But none will matter as much as Doug Ford’s ability to convince Ontarians he is the best candidate not to negotiate with a madman but to protect their pocketbooks from a madman.

Elections aren’t won on hypotheticals — they’re won on trust. And right now, Ontarians don’t need a leader who promises to “figure it out” when the storm hits. The storm has hit. They want someone who has been through the storm before and knows how to steer the ship.

Doug Ford’s path to victory isn’t about making Ontarians believe he can tame Donald Trump — it’s about proving he can shield them from the chaos that Trump is likely to spread for four years.

If the Progressive Conservative leader can make that case, this election won’t just be a win for the PCs — it will be a landslide.