Happy New Year from Stride Capital. To kick off the year, we sat down with Andrew Del Bucchia, Vice President Leasing, to discuss what Canadians can expect to see in equipment financing during 2026.

What are you currently seeing in the equipment financing industry across Canada?

We have seen tightening from competition, and some pullback from competitors that were maybe being a bit too aggressive in the past few years with both pricing and structure. I believe we are going to see additional retreat and tightening within the market, which is going to put Stride Capital in a spot to pick up additional market share. We have always prided ourselves on our consistency in credit buying habits and pricing rather than chasing the market. We believe this long-term approach is going to start showing some serious gains as we enter the back half of 2026.

What do you expect to change the most throughout 2026?

We anticipate more consolidation amongst competition as we move into 2026. In the past year, we have seen National Bank purchase CWB and its equipment division, CWB National Leasing. In October, ATB sold its equipment finance division to Essex Financial, which will also create opportunities for Stride. We also recently saw Laurentian Bank equipment division sell to Fairstone Bank of Canada.

This reminds me a lot of what the market looked like in 2008-2010 as we came out of the financial crash in the US. We saw a large amount of consolidation at that point which led to a springboard of opportunities for the companies who had remained consistent in their buying habits prior to the crash. 

This piggybacks off of several competitors who didn’t make it out of the transportation crash in 2023/2024, going out of business or selling off their portfolios. We are still seeing some of the effects of that and anticipate seeing a few more ripples to the market at some point in 2026.

What challenges are business owners facing and how is that affecting equipment acquisition?

Uncertainty remains the key challenge for all businesses in Canada, including our competition, our customers, vendors, and brokers that we work with. We are still working through trade issues with the US, and the market still doesn’t exactly know what the current federal government agenda is going to do for the country. With that, we have seen some delays with clients deciding to pull the trigger on financing and making sure they are prepared to handle their payments if things shift. While the decrease in closing ratios is frustrating in the moment, long term, we anticipate that our clients will make decisions with more of a long-term approach, which means the decisions are being made with good confidence.

How can equipment financing help businesses overcome these challenges from coast to coast?

Stride Capital is committed to working with our existing clients and new clients to help them get through what will be an uncertain year. One area we can assist in is cash flow, which we feel a lot of our clients will be monitoring closely over the next 12 months. We are one of only a few equipment finance companies in Canada who can truly provide working capital to help you stretch and save through sale and leasebacks with both confidence and expertise. Whether we have clients who want to consolidate their current payments and create a more manageable payment on all their leases, or free up equity from free and clear equipment to create working capital, we have the ability to lessen the burden of uncertainty.

What types of financing structures are clients choosing headed into 2026? Why do these stand out?

We’re expecting to see less traditional leasing and more focus on products like private sales and sale and leasebacks. We anticipate more private sales as companies look to adjust to the requirements they have for their equipment on the fly. We will also continue to assist our clients with cash flow options that will help them trim their expenses and inject much required cash onto their balance sheets.

What are some common financing mistakes that you see? How can businesses avoid these this coming year?

One of the biggest mistakes we see are companies not having their financials in order. A good accounting firm and proper bookkeeping can go a long way in helping secure the best terms and rates. When clients try to cut corners with whom they use for their accounting and/or don’t have a proper bookkeeper, they end up making the process of securing financing longer, with more questions and typically higher rates. The up-front costs of hiring a proper CPA or CA and having proper books may seem like a lot, but the savings you will see down the road when you are presenting to a finance company will pay you back and then some. It will also allow for an easier and less stressful process when you are applying for credit.

What can businesses do today to drive growth in 2026?

Be diligent in who they are dealing with, which is no different than what Stride Capital is doing when reviewing our credit applications. Having a good, trusted book of AR is going to be something that will help get through the uncertainty. Knowing you can have a conversation with a customer when something unexpected comes up is always important, but especially when expecting some market uncertainty. Growth for the sake of growth is a short-term path that almost always leads to longer term issues that you will need to spend money and time on. If you can set yourself up with good, positive customers, you’ll have more confidence that you can work through problems that may come up. 

Learn more about Andrew and get in touch today.