Victor Dodig: 2024-2025 trends and opportunities for Quebec SMEs

In an economic context marked by rate hikes, persistent inflation and slowing demand, the words of Victor Dodig – CEO of CIBC and an influential voice in Canadian finance – are being closely scrutinized by entrepreneurs. His analyses for 2024-2025 converge around three key messages: the Canadian economy is slowing, productivity is becoming a survival issue, and SMEs that invest in digital, export and financial innovation will be best positioned for recovery. Meanwhile, in Quebec, some 230,000 SMEs account for 99.7% of the industrial fabric and over 50% of private GDP, according to the Quebec government’s Plan PME 2025-2028 (quebec.ca). In this context, it’s no longer just a question of “keeping up”, but of transforming the signals sent by the markets – and the major banks – into concrete levers for growth.

This article offers a pragmatic reading of the trends highlighted by Victor Dodig and the major financial institutions, linking them to the most recent data on Quebec SMEs: e-commerce, automation, financing and entrepreneurial confidence. You’ll find concrete courses of action – website creation, e-commerce, CRM, AI and automation – to transform these macroeconomic trends into opportunities for your business. And if you want to move from theory to action plan, the Nuaweb team can support you from strategy to implementation.

1. A challenging economic environment, but one rich in opportunities for SMEs

Victor Dodig’s recent speeches emphasize a challenging 2024-2025 environment for companies: moderate growth, pressure on margins and cautious consumers. This reading is consistent with SME confidence indicators. In December 2025, CFIB’s Business Barometer showed a confidence index of 59.9 in Canada, but only 50.0 in Quebec – the lowest level among the provinces. (cfib-fcei.ca) In other words, Quebec entrepreneurs are particularly cautious at the dawn of 2026, confirming the importance of rigorously steering profitability and investments.

Yet the structural data remain very positive. The Plan PME 2025-2028 reminds us that SMEs (fewer than 250 employees) account for 99.7% of Quebec businesses and more than 50% of GDP, while federal statistics show that SMEs still contribute almost half of Canada’s private sector GDP. (quebec.ca) Meanwhile, the NETendances 2024 study reveals that 74% of Quebec adults made at least one online purchase in 2024, but only 47% of them did so on Quebec merchant sites. (journaldemontreal.com) This means that more than half of digital spending is still leaving the local ecosystem – a direct opportunity for SMEs that get serious about structuring themselves online.

While Victor Dodig stresses the need for companies to increase productivity and invest in digital to remain competitive in the long term, the Quebec government is moving in the same direction: a new report on SME automation shows that 81% of companies now see productivity as the primary motivation for an automation project (versus 66% in 2023), and 62% cite profitability as the main driver (versus 39% in 2023). (quebec.ca) For a Quebec SME, these data and messages converge: the status quo is no longer an option. It’s time to either automate, or specialize… ideally both.

To transform these macro-economic findings into concrete levers, the first step is to clarify your company’s positioning, margins and digital growth potential. This is exactly the kind of diagnosis that a strategic consultation with a specialized agency like Nuaweb, which combines expertise in AI, web design, CRM, e-commerce and video, can help you achieve.

2. Digital, AI and automation: from Dodig’s vision to the reality of Quebec SMEs

In his speeches, Victor Dodig regularly returns to the strategic role of technology investment in improving productivity and reducing vulnerability to economic cycles. In particular, he identifies automation, data analytics and AI as key levers for small and medium-sized businesses. This diagnosis is fully in line with the conclusions of the Quebec government: the recent study on SME automation shows that, over the past two years, the quest for productivity has moved to the top of the list of investment motives, and that the companies that automate the most are also those that have greater access to public and bank financing. (quebec.ca)

The figures confirm that digital transformation is already well underway in Quebec, but far from complete. In 2023, 65.6% of Quebec companies were involved in e-commerce (sales or purchases), compared to 52.7% in 2016. More than 22.1% sold directly online, and nearly 30.4% of their sales already came from the Internet. (quebec.ca) On the advanced technology side, only 16.9% of companies were using at least one advanced application or technology (analytics, IoT, robotics, machine learning) in 2023, of which only 3% were using machine learning (AI). (quebec.ca) This means that the majority of SMEs are not yet exploiting the full potential of AI and automation in their business processes.

In the field, the opportunities are very real:

• Automate customer relations with chatbots and AI agents capable of responding 24/7, qualifying leads and directing requests to the right contacts.
• Centralize information in a CRM adapted to SMEs to track prospects, automate follow-ups and improve conversion without increasing payroll costs.
• Optimize decision-making with connected dashboards: sales, margins per channel, marketing campaign performance, online customer behavior.
• Produce more value-added content (articles, videos, product sheets, newsletters) using AI for copywriting, video scripting or performance analysis.

The good news for Quebec SMEs, often aware but limited by budgets, is that several public programs support these investments: the PSCE (Programme de soutien à la compétitivité des entreprises) can finance up to 50% of eligible expenses for digitization projects such as CRM or automation, while the Offensive de transformation numérique has a $218 million envelope to accelerate the digital transformation of SMEs. (cassiopea.ca) At a time when Victor Dodig and other banking executives are stressing the importance of investing “intelligently” in technology, these grants are a very concrete way of reducing risk and increasing return on investment.

To maximize the impact of these programs, it is essential to build a coherent digital plan: diagnosis of processes, choice of tools, prioritization of quick wins and long-term support. This is precisely what Nuaweb offers, combining strategy, technology integration and ongoing support to transform macro-economic vision into measurable results for your SME.

3. E-commerce and international competition: how to regain market share

Victor Dodig’s analysis of the Canadian consumer market highlights a major fact: households are increasingly arbitrating their spending and systematically comparing prices online. For Quebec SMEs, this means that competition is no longer just coming from the shop next door, but from international platforms capable of delivering anywhere in the country. The NETendances 2024 survey shows that 74% of Quebec adults shopped online in 2024, but 53% of online shoppers did not spend a penny at a local retailer. (journaldemontreal.com) And according to the same study, around 40% of online shoppers ordered directly from import sites such as Temu, Shein, Wish or AliExpress, while Amazon, Walmart and Shein still dominate the podium of most-used retailers. (transformation-numerique.ulaval.ca)

In this landscape, remaining absent from e-commerce or contenting oneself with a non-optimized showcase site is tantamount to letting market share slip to the benefit of international giants. Yet government data show that more than six out of ten companies are already involved in e-commerce in Quebec (65.6% in 2023), and more than one in five sells directly over the Internet (22.1%). (quebec.ca) The question, then, is no longer “should you do it?”, but “how can you stand out from the crowd and make the most of your digital investment?

Here are a few concrete levers, in line with the major trends of 2024-2025:

• Create a professional online store with a smooth shopping experience, secure payment methods and clear logistics (delivery, returns). An agency like Nuaweb can design and integrate an online store aligned with your operational reality.
• Highlight your local identity (Quebec products, short circuits, personalized service) to capture customers who want to reduce their dependence on international giants, especially in a context where some consumers are turning away from Amazon for economic and political reasons. (transformation-numerique.ulaval.ca)
• Leverage customer data to personalize the experience: product recommendations, newsletter segmentation, targeted promotions, loyalty programs.
• Optimize search engine optimization (SEO) so that your products and services appear ahead of those of your competitors – local or foreign – on Google. This requires structured content, complete product sheets and pages adapted to the searches of Quebec consumers.

E-commerce investments aren’t just for the big chains. Thanks to proven solutions (Shopify, WooCommerce, CRM integrations) and specialized support, today’s SMEs can launch a high-performance platform with a controlled budget and measurable ROI (average basket, conversion rate, customer acquisition cost). Nuaweb supports projects of this kind, from website creation to AI integration for sales personalization and customer service automation.

In short, the implicit message behind the economic trends put forward by Victor Dodig is clear: in a market where demand is under pressure and competition is globalized, it’s the ability of SMEs to digitize, get to know their customers better and position themselves online that will make the difference between stagnation and growth.

4. Financing, CRM and growth management: from macro vision to action plan

Canada’s major banks, including CIBC headed by Victor Dodig, insist on the need for more rigorous performance management for SMEs: margins, cash flow, financing mix and market diversification (especially exports). Federal figures confirm the growing importance of SMEs in Canadian exports: in 2024, SMEs contributed 37.9% of the total value of goods exports, totalling $712.8 billion. (ised-isde.canada.ca) Companies that master their sales data, customer relations and digital channels are better positioned to take advantage of these markets, both in Quebec and internationally.

In the field, this involves three pillars:

• A solid CRM to centralize customer data, track opportunities, automate follow-ups and measure the sales cycle. Modern CRM tools, like those integrated by Nuaweb, also enable you to connect your digital channels (site, e-commerce, campaigns) and get a global view of your pipeline.
• A content and visibility strategy to build trust, shorten the decision cycle and enhance your expertise: blog, videos, case studies, webinars. A strong online presence also makes your case more credible in the eyes of financial institutions and public partners.
• A structured financing plan combining self-financing, bank loans and government aid. The Quebec study on automation shows that 8 out of 10 SMEs finance their projects mainly through self-financing, but that those who make better use of government loans and subsidies manage to go further in their transformation projects. (quebec.ca)

In practice, a typical project for a Quebec SME in 2024-2025 might look like this:

• Diagnosis of processes (sales, marketing, service) and identification of manual tasks to be automated.
• Implementation of a CRM connected to a new website and online store.
• Integration of chatbots and AI tools to qualify requests, personalize offers and reduce time spent on repetitive tasks.
• Financing process: preparation of applications for PSCE, investment tax credits and negotiations with financial institutions.
• Quarterly monitoring with dashboards: evolution of sales, margins, acquisition costs and return on digital investment.

This is exactly the kind of integrated support – strategic, technological and financial – that more and more executives are looking for, in line with Victor Dodig’s messages on the need to build “more resilient, more productive and more data-driven” companies for the next decade. By working with an agency like Nuaweb, you gain not only technical expertise, but also the ability to dialogue with the financial and public partners who will support your growth.

Conclusion: turn Victor Dodig’s signals into competitive advantage with Nuaweb

The 2024-2025 trends put forward by Victor Dodig and Canada’s major financial institutions outline a demanding reality, but one full of potential for Quebec SMEs: slowing demand, pressure on costs, but also sustained growth in e-commerce, accelerated automation and increased government support for digital transformation. Recent data confirms this: 65.6% of Quebec companies are already involved in e-commerce, 81% of SMEs see productivity as the main reason for automating, and 74% of Quebec adults buy online… but more than half of them are not yet shopping at local merchants. (quebec.ca)

For SMEs, the issue is no longer whether these trends will last – they’re already well established – but how to adapt to them quickly and intelligently. This means..:

• Build a professional, efficient web presence, with an optimized site and, if necessary, a high-performance online store.
• Structure customer relations with the right CRM, automation and AI tools to boost productivity.
• Leverage available financing programs to reduce the financial risk of your digital transformation.
• Continuously measure your results to adjust your investments and strengthen your market position.

Would you like to move from strategic thinking to a concrete action plan aligned with your reality and resources? Book a free consultation with a Nuaweb expert today. Together, we’ll analyze your processes, digital opportunities and financing options to turn the trends of 2024-2025 – and the signals sent out by leaders like Victor Dodig – into a real competitive advantage for your Quebec SME.

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