Canadian CEOs more confident than global peers: KPMG CEO Outlook.

• Author: Bissonette, Laurie
• Position: Business Sense

Each year, KPMG surveys CEOs from the top firms from around the world, including Canada, regarding their outlook for growth, business priorities and things that keep them awake at night. Published in late May, the 2018 CEO Outlook includes perspectives from 50 Canadian CEOs, and is part of a global KPMG study including nearly 1,300 international CEOs.

Given all of die economic and political uncertainty, we expected a traditional cautious view from Canadian business leaders. The result was the opposite, with Canadian leaders having a more confident view than their global peers in many areas. Canadian CEOs, for instance, are far more bullish on their ability to harness technology and grow their business than their global counterparts. Here are a few of the highlights of this year's survey--some results are consistent and some are quite different. Take a look:

Key findings in the KPMG 2018 Global CEO Outlook

* Confident in domestic growth

Canada 94%

Global 74%

* Appetite for Mergers and Acquisitions

Canada 56%

Global 51%

* Plan to be the disrupter not disrupted

Canada 96%

Global 54%

* AI and robotics will create more jobs than eliminate

Canada 66%

Global 62%

* Already used AI to automate processes

Canada 22%

Global 12%

* Cyber-attack will hit my company

Canada 50%

Global 49%

* Very well prepared to contain a cyber attack

Canada 58%

Global 26%

"Despite much debate about the potential trade headwinds facing the country, Canadian CEOs have a positive outlook for their own businesses and our economy as a whole," says Benjie Thomas, Canadian managing partner of advisory services for KPMG in Canada. "In fact, business leaders in Canada are feeling an unprecedented level of confidence that has them aggressively ready to take on the challenges and opportunities facing their companies."

A belief in growth

Canadian CEOs are confident the Canadian economy will continue to grow (94 per cent) over the next three years and they expect their businesses to grow (96 per cent) along with it. Canadian companies have, for the most part, enjoyed strong earnings and profits over the past few years and are looking to deploy the large pools of capital they have stored up. While many will invest in organic growth, most CEOs say they are looking outside of the organization for new opportunities.

This year's CEO Outlook also indicates 2018 will see a big uptick in mergers and acquisitions across the globe and Canada will be no exception. "Eighty-two per cent of Canadian...