Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung
Parent Like a Millionaire​

Kids are expensive, but not always in the obvious ways parents expect. The baby stage gets most of the attention, with daycare, diapers, strollers, and all the early gear. But as children get older, the costs don’t exactly disappear. They often change shape, showing up through housing choices, activities, food, travel, technology, birthday parties, and the quiet pressure to keep up with what every other family seems to be doing.

In this session, Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung, authors of Parent Like a Millionaire (as well as Quit Like a Millionaire), explain how families can use FIRE-style thinking to reduce financial stress without making parenting feel cheap or joyless. We’ll talk about lifestyle creep through kids, the difference between genuine necessities and social expectations, and how parents can build better systems around spending, values, and long-term freedom. If raising kids sometimes feels financially heavier than you expected, this session will help you step back, see the patterns more clearly, and make more intentional choices for your family.

Robb Engen
What Taxes and Spending REALLY Look Like in Retirement

The first few years of retirement can be surprisingly hard to budget for. The old rule of thumb says you’ll spend about 70% of your final working income, but real-life retirement rarely fits that neatly into a spreadsheet. In this session, Robb Engen walks us through what he has seen while helping Canadians make the transition from saving paycheques to creating retirement income.

We’ll talk about what spending often looks like in the first year of retirement, how retirees can practically withdraw the money they need, and why withholding tax at the source is so often misunderstood. Robb also explains whether Canadians tend to overestimate or underestimate their retirement tax bill and what steps can help optimize taxes in the first few years of freedom from work.

Mark Seed
A Detailed Look At My Early Retirement and Financial Independence

Mark Seed, founder of My Own Advisor, has accomplished something many Canadians dream about: Early Retirement! Mark walks us through the saving habits, investing decisions, and planning tradeoffs that helped him and his wife get to the point where work became optional.

We’ll look at how Mark thought about his “magic number,” why he built his portfolio around a mix of dividend income, ETF distributions, and long-term growth, and what his income stream looks like now that he’s entering early retirement. Mark also shares how he thinks about RRSPs, TFSAs, non-registered accounts, mortgage payoff decisions, and the role of a defined benefit pension. Most importantly, he explains his Retirement Income Map and how he plans to draw down his portfolio in a tax-smart way while still giving himself the freedom to enjoy the next stage of life.

Thuy Lam

What People Are Missing About the RRSP

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Kanwal Sarai

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Preet Banerjee
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Shannon Lee Simmons and Rob Carrick

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Ed Rempel

Retirement Tax Shock: Why Many Canadians Pay More Tax Than Expected

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Dan Kent

Investing Terms Primer

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Danica

Career Break - Liberty Leave

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Anshul

Travel Hacking for Beginners

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Sash

Credit Cards in Canada: An Overview

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Dale Roberts

Where Life Meets the Retirement Cashflow Plan

A good retirement plan isn’t just about reaching “the number.” It’s about turning your savings, pensions, government benefits, and investment accounts into a cash flow strategy that works in real life. In this session, Dale Roberts - creator of Retirement Club and founder of Cut The Crap Investing - walks us through what a retirement cash flow plan is, why it matters, and how Canadians can use one to make better decisions before and during retirement.

We’ll cover RRSP/RRIF withdrawals, tax brackets, CPP and OAS timing, the 4% rule, and whether an RRSP meltdown strategy makes sense for your situation. Dale also shares common mistakes Canadians make with their cash flow plans.

Stephanie and Gillian - Our Freedom Years

The Best European Winter Escapes for Canadian Snowbirds

For decades, Canadian snowbirds have looked to Florida and Arizona as the default winter escape. But with rising costs, crowded destinations, currency headaches, and more Canadians looking beyond the United States, it might be time to rethink what a great winter base can look like.

In this session, Stephanie and Gillian from Our Freedom Years share what they’ve learned from years of full-time travel, with a special focus on their recent time in the Canary Islands, including Gran Canaria, La Gomera, and Tenerife. We’ll talk about how to compare European winter destinations for cost, weather, walkability, healthcare, transportation, safety, food, community, and quality of life. Learn how to keep costs down, and get the most value for your personal tastes and preferences. PLUS: Best Airbnb tips from two people who have stayed at over 90 Airbnb locations!

Dan Kent
Breaking Down Investing Basics

A lot of people want to start investing, but the terminology alone can feel overwhelming. Dan Kent, founder of Stocktrades.ca, is breaking down some of the most basic investing terms to help new investors feel confident making their first trade. This session is great to share with friends, family, or even your kids if you’re hoping to get them comfortable with investing.

Jon Chevreau

From Retirement Columnist to Retiree: What I Got Right, Wrong, and Didn’t Expect

After decades of writing about financial independence, semi-retirement, RRSPs, RRIFs, pensions, annuities, and the whole retirement transition, Jon Chevreau recently crossed the line from retirement financial columnist - to retiree himself. In this session, Jon reflects on what it feels like when the theory becomes real life!

We’ll talk about what surprised him most, what he feels he got right, and what he might look at differently now that he’s living through the transition personally. Jon also shares his thoughts on moving from a paycheque to portfolio withdrawals, the challenge many successful savers face when it comes time to actually spend, and what Canadians still misunderstand most about retirement after years of planning for it.

Hannah McVean
Financial Planning in Action: A Step-by-Step Canadian Case Study

Most Canadians have never seen what a comprehensive financial plan actually looks like. They either have none at all, or they have some auto-generated big bank template that was quickly printed off for them. Good recommendations may sound simple, but they are built by connecting account balances, pensions, taxes, investment returns, inflation, spending needs, and personal goals - and then testing what happens when those assumptions change.

In this session, Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Investment Manager Hannah McVean shares her financial-planning software and works through a Canadian case study step-by-step. She’ll show how a planner organizes the information, identifies potential problems, compares different scenarios, and turns a screen full of numbers into practical decisions. Viewers will see how changes to saving, spending, retirement timing, or other assumptions can quickly reshape the results, and gain a much clearer understanding of what a financial plan can reveal about their own future.

Kyle Prevost
Supercharge Your First Down Payment: FHSA + RRSP

Saving aggressively for your first home is difficult enough before confronting the alphabet soup of FHSAs, RRSPs, TFSAs, the Home Buyers’ Plan, GICs, and CMHC insurance. Used in the right order, however, these accounts can generate tends of thousands of dollars in tax refunds and help yo build a down payment much faster.

In this session, Kyle Prevost walks first-time buyers through the process step by step (starting years before move-in day). He’ll explain why opening an FHSA early matters, when to combine it with the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan, and how reinvesting tax refunds can supercharge your downpayment. Through two detailed case studies, we’ll also compare smaller and larger down payments, examine the cost of mortgage insurance, and look at safer ways to invest money needed within a few years. The goal is simple: Build the biggest possible down payment as quickly as possible without taking unnecessary risks.

Ed Rempel, Fee-For Service Financial Planner & Tax Accountant
How to Build a Retirement Plan That Actually Works - and Grows Your Wealth

Many retirement plans are designed to feel safe, instead of giving you freedom. Safety usually comes at the cost of long-term growth and may mean  you never retire with the lifestyle you want. Ed Rempel gives an overview of his philosophy, explains how to determine the return you actually need for retirement, and why equities often need to play a larger role than most people expect. Learn how to think about risk, long-term  nvesting, and when more advanced strategies may be appropriate.

Fred Masters
Helping Adult Children Afford Their First Home

For many young Canadians, buying a first home can feel increasingly out of reach. This reality is putting pressure on parents and grandparents to step in, but deciding whether to gift money, provide a loan, co-sign a mortgage, or preserve those assets for a future inheritance raises difficult questions. How much can you safely afford to give? Is your own credit or retirement at risk? And what happens to that money if your child’s relationship ends?

Fred Masters is a longtime financial educator, personal finance author, and licensed mortgage agent. In this session, he explores practical ways families can help adult children enter the housing market without jeopardizing their own financial future. We’ll examine the risks and responsibilities of co-signing, ways to structure family assistance, and several less obvious sources of cash flow. Fred will also share common mistakes he has seen and the conversations every family should have before committing.

Ron Butler
The Angry Mortgage Update: Rates, Renewals, and Canada’s Housing Reality 

Canadian homeowners have experienced a wild few years: record-low borrowing costs, then rapid rate increases, then falling prices, and now a major wave of mortgages coming up for renewal. Cut through the confusing noise with a guy who has seen it all!

Joining the Canadian Financial Summit for the first time, Ron Butler is the owner of Butler Mortgage, a 30-year mortgage-industry veteran, and the outspoken host of the popular Angry Mortgage Podcast. Known for his blunt, no-nonsense commentary, Ron will explain what is actually happening with fixed and variable rates, mortgage renewals, housing prices, and borrowers with little remaining equity. He’ll also share what homeowners should watch before their next renewal and where he believes Canada’s mortgage and housing markets are headed. Expect strong opinions, straight answers, and no spin.

Ron Butler
The Angry Mortgage Update: Rates, Renewals, and Canada’s Housing Reality 

Canadian homeowners have experienced a wild few years: record-low borrowing costs, then rapid rate increases, then falling prices, and now a major wave of mortgages coming up for renewal. Cut through the confusing noise with a guy who has seen it all!

Joining the Canadian Financial Summit for the first time, Ron Butler is the owner of Butler Mortgage, a 30-year mortgage-industry veteran, and the outspoken host of the popular Angry Mortgage Podcast. Known for his blunt, no-nonsense commentary, Ron will explain what is actually happening with fixed and variable rates, mortgage renewals, housing prices, and borrowers with little remaining equity. He’ll also share what homeowners should watch before their next renewal and where he believes Canada’s mortgage and housing markets are headed. Expect strong opinions, straight answers, and no spin.

Maria Smith
Stress-Test Your Life: How to Build an Unshakeable Household

A household can look financially successful on paper and still be surprisingly fragile. Two good incomes, a valuable home, and growing investments may create a sense of security… but one job loss, illness, interest-rate shock, or major expense can expose weaknesses that traditional financial rules fail to address.

In this session, Maria Smith explains how to identify the hidden pressure points in your financial life and build a household that can absorb unexpected shocks. We’ll examine the dual-income trap, single points of failure, illiquid wealth, buy-now-pay-later debt, and lifestyle inflation. Maria will then walk through practical ways to calculate your survival baseline, protect your financial runway, and conduct a financial fire drill. You’ll leave with a clearer picture of how resilient your household really is, as well as concrete steps for strengthening it before the next emergency arrives.

Jeff McCartney
Give It Now or Leave It Later? The Tax-Smart Way to Pass on Wealth 

Passing on wealth isn’t only a question of how much to give… but also when to give it. An inheritance received decades from now may arrive too late to help with a home, children, or the rising cost of living. However, giving money earlier can affect your own retirement security and may create very different tax consequences depending on which assets you transfer.

Jeff McCartney, CFP and MBA with Objective Financial Partners, walks us through the financial and family tradeoffs of giving now versus leaving an inheritance later. He’ll explain when lifetime gifts may make sense, when waiting may be the better choice, and how giving cash, investments, real estate, and registered accounts can produce different outcomes. We’ll also consider control, fairness between beneficiaries, and how to help your family without putting your own financial future at risk.

Erin Allen - Director, Online Distribution, BMO ETFs

Choosing an ETF Based on Your Investing Goals

One of the biggest misconceptions in investing is that there's a single best ETF for everyone. The reality is that investors have very different goals. Some are focused on growing their wealth over the long term, others are looking to generate regular cash flow, some are building an emergency fund, and others want to reduce volatility while staying invested in the market. This session explores how different ETF strategies can help investors achieve those different objectives.

Alain Desbiens - Vice-Chair, BMO ETFs

Rethinking Retirement and the Need for Cash Flow in Canadian Investment Portfolios

Canada is facing a major demographic shift as boomers retire, longevity rises, and fewer workers support more retirees. The challenge is shifting from saving to generating reliable, tax-efficient income. This episode explores the retirement wave, why income matters most, and how Covered all and Target Cash Flow ETFs can support consistent retirement income.

Ed Rempel, Fee-For Service Financial Planner & Tax Accountant
The Smith Maneuver vs Cash Dam: How to Choose the Right Strategy and How Self-Employed Canadians Can Do Both

Many Canadians have heard of the Smith Manoeuvre. Many are also self-employed and do not know they could be doing the Cash Dam. How do they fit together in a real financial plan? Ed Rempel breaks down when each strategy works, whether combining them can improve results, and what to watch out for. Learn how to think about these strategies in the context of your overall plan, including considerations for self-employed Canadians

Brenda Hiscock
The Efficient Nest Egg: Save Thousands with Smart Retirement Income Planning

Building a retirement nest egg is only half the job. Once the paycheques stop, retirees must decide how much to withdraw, which accounts to use first, and how to coordinate those withdrawals with pensions, CPP, and OAS. Small decisions made each year can quietly add up to thousands of dollars in unnecessary tax or lost benefits.

With more than 25 years of experience in financial services, Certified Financial Planner Brenda Hiscock explains how to turn a collection of retirement accounts into an efficient and dependable income stream. We’ll look at how RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, and non-registered investments can work together, when drawing registered savings earlier may make sense, and how withdrawal order can affect taxes and government benefits. The goal is to make your savings last while keeping more of your retirement income working for you.

Kyle Prevost
What to Do With a Real Estate Portfolio in Retirement: How to Unwind It Tax-Efficiently

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Isabelle Bernier
Permission to Spend: Turning Your Savings Into a Better Retirement 

After spending decades measuring progress by how much they save, many Canadians find it surprisingly difficult to begin drawing that money down. Even retirees with more than enough may hesitate to travel, help their families, or enjoy their healthiest years because every withdrawal feels like moving backward.

With nearly 25 years of financial-planning experience, Isabelle Bernier explains how a well-built retirement plan can provide something numbers alone cannot: permission to spend. We’ll look at how to turn savings, pensions, and government benefits into a sustainable lifestyle, determine how much of a safety cushion you truly need, and adjust spending as markets and life circumstances change. This session isn’t about spending recklessly, it’s about using your savings intentionally and balancing future security with the retirement you worked so hard to enjoy.

Guillaume Dumais, Financial Planner and Tax Specialist with Objective Financial Planners 
Quebec’s Tax System Explained - Without the Headache

If you’re planning a move to Quebec — or you already live there and wonder why your taxes feel a little different — you’re not alone. Quebec has its own systems, its own rules, and sometimes its own surprises. Guillaume Dumais, a Montréal‑based financial planner and tax specialist with Objective Financial Partners breaks it all down. He’ll help us understand what newcomers need to know, what long‑time residents often miss, and the unique rules that set Quebec apart from the rest of the country.

Corrinna Paxton CFP Objective Financial Partners
U.S. Citizen, Canadian Resident: Avoiding Costly Cross-Border Money Mistakes 

Moving to Canada does not mean leaving the American tax system behind. U.S. citizens must continue filing American tax returns and reporting worldwide income while also meeting their Canadian tax filing obligations. Canadian investment accounts and planning strategies that seem straightforward can create unexpected tax, reporting, and compliance problems on the U.S. side of the border.

Corrinna Paxton is a Certified Financial Planner in both Canada and the United States, with more than 20 years of financial-planning experience. In this session, she explains how the two systems interact and highlights common mistakes involving Canadian investment accounts, retirement savings, pensions, foreign-account reporting, and portfolio construction. Whether you recently moved north or have lived in Canada for years, Corrinna will help you understand which financial decisions require extra caution and how proper cross-border planning can prevent expensive surprises.