Technology

2025 MNP Municipal Report: Canadian local governments lean into AI and analytics to drive meaningful progress

Published

11 months ago

May 26, 2025

New report from MNP and Leger reveals the barriers, priorities, and progress shaping local government modernization in 2025

CALGARY, AB, May 26, 2025 /CNW/ – Local governments across Canada are advancing how they use data and artificial intelligence (AI) to better serve their communities. By addressing resource needs, improving data accessibility, and developing internal capabilities, municipalities are poised to drive more consistent outcomes across the country.

According to MNP’s latest Municipal Report, developed in partnership with Leger, 23 percent of Canadian municipalities are currently using AI, though over half are actively exploring or planning adoption. What’s driving this momentum? A push for more efficient service delivery, better decision-making, and stronger community connections.

Building on insights from MNP’s 2024 and 2023 Municipal Reports, this year’s edition reflects responses from 282 local and regional governments. The report highlights the changes in priorities, persistent challenges, and emerging tools influencing the municipal landscape today.

“Municipalities aren’t interested in technology for technology’s sake. They’re looking for practical solutions that help them solve real problems for real people,” says James Richardson, Partner and National Leader of MNP’s Municipal Community of Practice. “This report provides insights on the issues and priorities that can help them craft their local approach to making pragmatic, sustainable progress — even in the face of limited budgets or complex systems.”

What are the top priorities for local governments?
This year’s study shows local governments remain focused on core responsibilities like cyber security, customer service, and technology modernization. However, emerging priorities such as AI, data analytics, and smart city initiatives have surged in importance.

Key municipal priorities in 2025 include:

Cyber security and privacy (78%)Citizen experience and service delivery (65%)Technology modernization (63%)Artificial intelligence (48%, more than double from 2024)Smart cities and digital infrastructure (47%, up 12% from 2023)

“Across Canada, we’re seeing a shift toward data-driven decision making, but it requires more than just new tools,” Wendy Gnenz, Partner and National Municipal Digital Leader at MNP. “Municipalities need to embrace a new way of providing programs and services — capitalizing on the vast amounts of data they have at their fingertips.

What’s standing in the way of progress?
While priorities are clear, implementation remains challenging. Municipalities report persistent barriers, including:

Insufficient resources (50%)Complicated decision-making processes and outdated procedures (44%, double from 2023)Legacy technology systems (43%)Lack of subject matter expertise (36%)

Although overall resource constraints have declined slightly since 2023, issues tied to legacy policies, systems, and risk aversion is becoming more prominent blockers to progress. Nearly one-third of municipalities still lack formal guidelines for using AI, and nearly half rely primarily on Excel for analytics, limiting their ability to extract deeper insights or make predictive decisions.

Another challenge lies in cyber security preparedness. While 83 percent of respondents say they feel prepared to manage data privacy and cyber threats, fewer than 35 percent consider themselves very prepared. In response, roughly three out of four identified cyber security training as one of their top internal needs — signalling the growing importance of capacity-building alongside new technology investments.

How are municipalities using AI today
Among those using AI, the most common applications focus on practical, people-first outcomes:

Customer service chatbots and citizen engagement toolsPublic safety and environmental monitoringInternal HR functions like scheduling and recruitment

At the same time, municipalities are prioritizing self-service platforms to improve access and convenience for citizens. These tools include mobile apps and online portals for taxes, permits, issue reporting, and other services. These investments are helping reduce administrative pressure while improving the overall customer experience.

Why MNP leads this work
As the pace of change accelerates, municipalities don’t need a complete overhaul. They need clarity, confidence, and the right resources to keep moving forward. That’s why MNP continues to lead this national study. We’re committed to being a reference point and thought leader for Canadian local governments — providing relevant insights to help communities navigate challenges and seize new opportunities.

Whether they’re implementing developing technologies, rethinking service delivery, or building internal capacity, we believe every community deserves a roadmap tailored to its unique needs and realities. This report is one way we support that mission, offering grounded, data-driven perspectives that leaders can use to make informed, people-focused decisions.

For survey data, analysis, and expert insights, download the full report here: https://www.mnp.ca/en/clients/public-sector/2025-municipal-report

About MNP LLP
National in scope and local in focus, MNP is one of Canada’s leading professional services firms — proudly serving individuals, businesses, and organizations since 1958. Through the development of strong relationships, we provide client-focused accounting, consulting, tax, and digital services. Our clients benefit from personalized strategies with a local perspective to fuel success wherever business takes them. For more information, visit www.mnp.ca.

SOURCE MNP

Technology

Bonree Powers Global Digital Finance with Intelligent Observability

Published

8 minutes ago

April 27, 2026

DONGGUAN, China, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — From March 31 to April 2, 2026, the second Huawei Global Financial EcoWeek, themed “Inspire • Collaborate • Achieve: Reshaping the Future of Finance”, was held in Sanyapo, Dongguan. The event brought together over 400 attendees from Huawei partners across more than 30 countries and regions, including over 60 independent software vendors (ISVs) and over 120 system integrators (SIs) in the financial industry. As global financial data volumes surge, customer demands diversify, and regulatory requirements evolve, financial institutions are accelerating their digital and intelligent transformation. Observability and intelligent operations technologies enable institutions to detect system anomalies in real time, optimise performance, and ensure business continuity, while cross-regional and cross-institution collaboration is becoming a key driver of industry innovation.

At the event, NTT Data signed a partnership agreement with BONREE DATA TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd. (Bonree), marking the launch of a renewed global financial ecosystem under the “SI Value Growth Plan.” As the first publicly listed company in China’s Application Performance Management (APM) and observability market, Bonree is advancing its globalisation strategy with established operations in Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, and Malaysia. The company has already secured orders worth millions in the Hong Kong and Macau region. Bonree complies with internationally recognised standards, including SOC 2 Type II and CMMI Level 5. Its self-developed LLM-powered observability platform has been selected for Huawei Cloud’s international baseline solution library, reflecting recognition from global cloud ecosystems and supporting its expansion with a “global deployment, local compliance” approach.

Bonree serves over 1,000 leading clients worldwide with system monitoring, performance optimisation, and intelligent operations solutions. Leveraging proprietary unsupervised knowledge graph root cause analysis technology and AI-driven intelligent analytics, Bonree delivers plug-and-play monitoring and fully managed adaptive alerting systems that detect anomalies quickly and accurately with minimal noise. With 56 authorised invention patents and 135 software copyrights, as well as 24/7 global technical support, Bonree maintains an NPS of 79 and a client satisfaction rate of 95%, reflecting its deep overseas market presence and trust among international financial institutions. With these core strengths, Bonree continues to lead in global fintech and digital operations, helping clients ensure business continuity and digital transformation while striving to become a leading global player in APM and observability.

CONTACT:
Yao Xiaohan
yaoxiaohan@bonree.com
+8618210189324

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SOURCE BONREE DATA TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd.

Technology

HZICC: The 2025 Hangzhou Highlights Awards Celebrating Visionaries Elevating the City’s Global Profile

Published

8 minutes ago

April 27, 2026

HANGZHOU, China, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What does the world see when it looks at Hangzhou? The Hangzhou & Friends: 2025 Hangzhou Highlights Awards, unveiled on February 4, offered an answer—not through statistics alone, but through the stories of connection that unfolded across the year.

The awards were born from a simple recognition: that a city’s global presence is built not only on grand events, but on the countless moments when people reach across borders. To honor this, the organizers structured the awards into four chapters: Dialogue of Civilizations, Industrial Narratives, Social Innovation, and Moments of the Year, each capturing a different way that Hangzhou touched the world.

Across these categories, moments of quiet resonance stood out. In the realm of cultural dialogue, ten friends from ten nations explored Hangzhou for the first time, their journeys later echoed by the city’s own return visits to Istanbul and Cairo. After the visits, a German photographer’s image of Qiandao Lake’s giant net fishing found its way to the pages of The Times, Hangzhou’s bond with Verona deepened into a year-long romance of music, art, and shared celebration, proving that sister-city ties can bloom into something far richer than ceremony.

On the Liangzhu Day of 2025, the “Liangzhu and the World: Dialogue between Liangzhu Ancient City and Rome Ancient City” was held—one of several moments when the region’s archaeological treasures found new resonance on the global stage. Beyond culture, the awards recognized how Hangzhou’s industries are telling Chinese stories overseas, from Geely’s global development to the rise of cross-border e-commerce that brings Hangzhou products，and the culture behind them directly to international consumers.

Yet there were also countless other people and moments that helped the world know Hangzhou. An international student from Pakistan filmed the city he had come to call home, capturing not just its landmarks but the feeling of belonging. A volunteer from Zimbabwe found himself holding hands with local police and strangers in a human chain at West Lake to maintain traffic order, discovering that being welcomed means being trusted to help. The Hangzhou International Conference Center became a stage for cross-cultural encounter, while Hangzhou’s tech-themed travel routes offered visitors a chance to explore the city’s cutting-edge innovations.

Together, these moments traced a portrait of Hangzhou not as a place that simply welcomes visitors, but as one that listens, shares, and grows, through the people who carry its stories onward.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/hzicc-the-2025-hangzhou-highlights-awards-celebrating-visionaries-elevating-the-citys-global-profile-302753932.html

SOURCE HZICC

Technology

Flagship Tablet to Highlight Huawei Innovative Product Launch in Bangkok

Published

8 minutes ago

April 27, 2026

BANGKOK, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Huawei officially announced the “Now Is Your Spark” Innovative Launch Event, due to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on May 7, 2026. This launch event will unveil a comprehensive lineup of flagship tablets, wearables, and smartphones. Empowering daily life with technology and exploring future frontiers through innovation, Huawei aims to inspire every user through intelligent experiences across all scenarios.

As one of the highlights of this launch event, the flagship tablet HUAWEI MatePad Pro Max will make its global debut. The HUAWEI MatePad Pro series has consistently delivered comprehensive experience breakthroughs with best-in-class productivity and creativity. This new device is Huawei’s best tablet yet, with a lightweight design, PC-level productivity, and PaperMatte Display, opening new possibilities for work, creation, and creative expression.

In the wearables sector, the HUAWEI WATCH FIT Series continues to gain widespread recognition from global consumers. By April 2026, shipments have exceeded 24 million units, setting a new benchmark in the fashion sports smartwatch market. The series offers a lightweight, comfortable wearing experience while providing professional sports guidance and health management features. At the Huawei Innovative Launch Event in Bangkok, the all-new HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5 Series will debut. It is set to become the ideal companion for users to express personal style, explore sports enjoyment, and monitor health around the clock. Additionally, this launch will introduce the HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner 2 Racing Legend Edition, specially designed for marathons with its upgraded data analysis capabilities to scientifically support every step of the run. Moreover, Huawei plans to unveil its first jewelry smartwatch designed in partnership with renowned international jewelry designer Francesca Amfitheatrof—the HUAWEI WATCH ULTIMATE DESIGN Spring Edition. Also making a grand return after five years is the next-generation premium kids watch, the HUAWEI WATCH KIDS X1 Series.

In the smartphone segment, HUAWEI nova 15 Max will deliver an upgraded experience for global consumers. Leveraging strengths in imaging technology, battery life, and reliable quality, it is an ideal companion for young people to capture life’s moments and unleash their creativity.

Now Is Your Spark— every individual can light up the world to drive change, and technology serves as the torch to ignite, connect, and amplify this force. By giving passion a voice, inspiration a purpose, and expression a stage, Huawei aims to empower consumers worldwide to write their own stories with innovative technologies.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2966013/84.jpg

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