Canada’s financial services sector directly accounted for 780,000 jobs and 6.8% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, according to a new report from the Conference Board of Canada released on Thursday.

“For a sector that is facing a lot of different headwinds [in] economic, regulatory and technological pressures, this is a good news report. It shows that the sector is doing very well,” says Janet Ecker, president and CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, which commissioned the annual study, An Engine for Growth: 2015 Report Card on Canada’s and Toronto’s Financial Services Sector. “It also just serves to underline the risk that the economy would face if the sector ever ran into trouble.”

This is why regulators and policy-makers must consider the impact their reforms have on the financial services sector and its ability to grow in addition to the important goal of protecting investors and consumers, Ecker says.

For example, the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), which is scheduled to come into effect in 2017, may have unintended consequences for some financial advisors and their job security, she suggests.

Many investment industry groups have argued that the creation of a public pension plan in Ontario would force employers to rethink existing company pension plans and group RRSPs.

If this is the case, that may potentially affect the jobs of some advisors who manage those company plans, Ecker says.

“It’s a bad outcome for consumers [and] advisors attached to those programs and it’s a loss of business to the industry,” she says. “And we have great expertise in pension and retirement income management in this country. It’s one of the things we’re really good at.”

The financial services sector is also facing increasingly costly regulatory requirements at a time when it is facing intense competition from technological disruptors. Although no one is advocating for fewer regulatory measures, the financial services sector can be at a disadvantage when some of those disruptors are not beholden to that same regulatory burden, Ecker suggests.

The report found that Toronto is — in fact and in reputation — the centre of Canada’s financial services sector. Almost one-third (31%) of head offices in the sector are located in Toronto while Vancouver, which came in second, has 13.2% of headquarters.

Those who work in the financial services sector and were located in the greater Toronto area (GTA) in 2014 made up 32.3% of total Canadians employed in the sector, up from 28.2% in 2004. Financial services directly employed 251,375 people in the GTA, which represents 8.1% of that region’s employment.

In addition to the sector’s importance in providing employment, the Conference Board report notes that the financial services sector has a significant impact on the overall economy.

“A well-functioning financial services sector is a critical ingredient in a successful economy,” the report states. “Key functions that the sector provides, which, essentially, all consumers and business require, include access to credit, transaction processing and risk-management services. Without these services, a modern, dynamic, and resilient economy is impossible.”