More Canadian CEOs say their business may not be viable in a decade, according to PwC’s latest global survey of top executives.

The responses also suggest Canadian companies lag foreign rivals on artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, product innovation, and investments to fight climate change.

PwC says it surveyed 4,701 chief executives across 105 countries and territories between Oct. 1, 2024 through November 8, 2024. The “Big Four” global accounting firm says in Canada, it collected responses from 167 CEOs.

Most of the results were collected prior to U.S. President Donald Trump securing a second term in office on Nov. 5. PwC Canada CEO Nicolas Marcoux says they reflect a mix of optimism about the economy, and unease about Canada-U.S. trade.

“Despite the uncertainty around potential economic measures that could come into effect with the new U.S. administration, Canadian CEOs remain remarkably resilient and are preparing to take on the challenges ahead," he stated in a news release.

Canadian CEOs were more optimistic about economic growth than they were last year. PwC found 55 per cent expect an improvement, up from 31 per cent in the prior survey.

On top of mounting trade challenges, PwC says Canadian CEOs are under pressure to address “megatrends” like technological disruption from AI, demographic shifts, and climate change. This year, macroeconomic volatility was the most identified threat. Geopolitical conflict and concerns about skilled labour availability were also top themes, according to PwC.

“In fact, 35 per cent of Canadian CEOs think their businesses might not be viable in 10 years, up from 32 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, in our two previous surveys,” Marcoux and PwC clients and markets national managing partner Nochane Rousseau wrote in the report.

“While many of the almost 170 Canadian chief executive officers who took part in our survey are taking some of the steps needed to adapt to these trends, the results also point to some notable differences from their global counterparts,” they wrote.

Among the Canadian CEOs who responded, 79 per cent reported plans to adopt generative AI to any degree in the next 12 months, lagging their global counterparts at 87 per cent. Sixty-three per cent reported development of an innovative product or service in the last five years, versus 72 per cent globally. Seventy-two per cent reported initiating a climate-related investment in the past 12 months, versus 81 per cent globally.

Slightly more Canadian CEOs than global respondents say they expect to make at least one acquisition in the next three years, at 58 per cent versus 54 per cent.