Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled Canada's long-awaited artificial intelligence strategy on Thursday, promising to position the nation as a global leader in the field. Speaking at Toronto General Hospital, Carney outlined the 'AI for all' plan, which covers job creation, prosperity, and sovereignty.
Key Pillars of the Strategy
The strategy is built on six strategic pillars: protecting Canadians and safeguarding democracy, empowering Canadians with AI skills and literacy, powering adoption of new technology, creating a sovereign AI foundation for made-in-Canada solutions, bolstering existing Canadian AI powerhouses, and building AI-based partnerships worldwide.
Goals and Targets
The plan aims to drive commercial AI adoption from the current 12% to nearly 60% by 2034. It also targets protecting Canadians from privacy and data harms, creating 250,000 new jobs, and securing over 90,000 AI-related job placements for young Canadians. Additionally, the strategy is expected to contribute around $200 billion to Canada's GDP, representing 3% growth.
Carney emphasized the need to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers for AI infrastructure, noting that adoption among small and medium-sized businesses is particularly low.
Canada's Potential
Carney highlighted Canada's strengths: 'We are an energy superpower, committed to doubling our electricity grid with the lowest-cost power in the G7 and second-lowest emission power in the OECD. We have the most educated population in the world, including experts in AI, robotics, and quantum.' He also described Canada as a stable, reliable partner in an unstable world.
Despite these advantages, Carney noted that Canada ranks near the bottom in AI training, literacy, and trust. He cited rising threats from deepfakes, unsafe chatbots, and AI-generated disinformation, as well as threats to privacy.
Next Steps
While details on risk mitigation remain scarce, the policy promises to modernize privacy legislation, introduce online safety laws, protect elections from AI-powered foreign interference, and continue reviews of the Privacy Act.
