The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday, Jan. 20, edition that Canadians are increasingly switching financial institutions says a study by Environics Research. The Post's Naimul Karim writes that about 57 per cent of the 45,000 people surveyed in 2025 had opened a new bank account or banking product within the preceding 12 months, though 33 per cent of them "remained loyal" to their primary financial institution. But 24 per cent moved on to a new bank, said Environics Research's Heidi Wilson, a three-point increase compared with 21 per cent in 2023 and 2021. "In the 20 years we've been running this study, it's the highest incidence ever of those switching a financial account; 24 per cent, or one in four Canadians, are choosing to go with a financial institution that is not their primary bank," she said. "In particular, it's the highest incidence ever of those opening up a new chequing account at a competitor. That should be alarming because once you open up that new chequing account, those other accounts follow." Canadians do not tend to switch banks, but that may be changing, giving fintechs, credit unions and smaller banks a rare opportunity in a sector that has been dominated by the Big Six for decades.