Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the federal government's strategy on artificial intelligence in Toronto, using a tour of a research institute and meetings with researchers to set out how Ottawa intends to steer a technology reshaping the economy. The announcement positioned AI as a centrepiece of the government's effort to lift productivity and growth.
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon, who had previewed the plan earlier in the week, said the strategy would seek to build public trust in AI, empower workers rather than displace them, and 'help build Canada.' He cast trust as the foundation on which adoption would depend, arguing that Canadians needed confidence in how the systems are governed.
The government said new privacy and online safety laws would form an important element of that framework, signalling that the strategy would be paired with regulation as well as investment. The approach reflects a broader debate among governments over how to encourage AI development while guarding against its risks, from misinformation to the handling of personal data.
Mr Carney, a former central banker who has leaned on his economic credentials, has tied the AI push to a wider message about national competitiveness at a difficult moment for the economy. He has described Canada as passing through a 'settling-in' period after data confirmed a technical recession, and has argued that productivity-enhancing technologies are central to a recovery.
The strategy lands as governments around the world race to position themselves in artificial intelligence, balancing the promise of economic gains against anxieties about jobs, privacy and concentration of power among a handful of large firms. Canada has sought to build on the strength of its research base, including prominent academic centres, while translating that expertise into commercial and public benefit.
Later in the day, Mr Carney was scheduled to meet the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, rounding out an agenda that mixed the domestic technology push with international diplomacy. The AI plan now moves from announcement to the harder work of legislation and implementation.