Innovation is key to a vibrant Ontario financial services sector.

Let’s create the future of financial services together!

FSRA’s Innovation Office is here to enable responsible innovation in Ontario’s financial services sector. We help innovators overcome barriers to introduce innovative services and products to the market.

Innovation requires collaboration. Let’s start the dialogue on how we can work together to support the development of an innovation-friendly, sustainable, accessible market for financial services.  Contact us today.

What's on this page:

Innovation Framework

The Innovation Framework sets clear expectations and guiding principles to help you bring innovative products to market in a sustainable, responsible and accessible way. The framework is in place to make it easier for you to propose new ideas, products and services while maintaining consumer confidence in financial services.

Opportunities reports

The Innovation Office held consultations with stakeholders in the mortgage brokering and insurance sectors to seek input on innovation opportunities and regulatory barriers to innovation. These consultations have been summarized in the following reports:

Test and Learn Environments (TLEs) for Financial Services Innovation

TLE Approach Guidance

In January 2022, FSRA released the Approach Guidance on the Test and Learn Environments (TLEs). The guidance is as a tool to support market-driven innovation in the sectors FSRA regulates. FSRA’s TLEs align with our principle-based regulation commitment through:

  • data/evidence-based policy and decision-making
  • when assessing innovation opportunities (new products, services, or business models) proposed by market participants, FSRA will provide timely, adaptive, and proportionate regulatory response

The TLE Guidance is set up in a way that allows sector-specific customization while maintaining consistency in how tests can be set up and conducted across all applicable sectors. Specific testing “vehicles” and mechanisms customized for different sectors and objectives are under the main Guidance as appendices.

Read more about FSRA’s first approved TLE application

Read more about FSRA’s Territories TLE

Hear what Glen Padassery, Executive Vice President, Policy, had to say about FSRA’s TLE at the 2022 Advocis Regulatory Affairs Symposium.

Video Descriptive Transcript - 2022 Advocis Regulatory Affairs Symposium (Glen Padassery, Executive Vice President, Policy)

Market participants applying to the TLE must:

  1. Follow the corresponding appendix
  2. Use the designated application form
  3. Email the completed application package to [email protected].

Current appendices and forms include:

  1. Technical Information and Specifications for TLEs (Multi-sectoral)
  2. Guide to Applications for Auto Insurance Exemptive Authority TLE (Auto Insurance)
  3. Guide to TLE applications requesting FSRA exercise regulatory discretion

The TLE Guidance was open for public consultation from January to December 2022.

Additional resources