Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All
Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All
Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All (PDF, 2.37 MB)
Table of contents
Message from the minister
The Government’s vision: AI for All
Key pillars of the strategy
Priority sectors
Pillar 1: Protecting Canadians and safeguarding democracy
Pillar 2: Ensuring AI empowers Canadians
Pillar 3: Powering AI adoption for shared prosperity
Pillar 4: Building the Canadian sovereign AI foundation
Pillar 5: Building and scaling Canadian AI champions
Pillar 6: Building trusted partnerships and global alliances
Conclusion
Message from the minister
An innovative Canada is a stronger Canada. And AI is the major driver of innovation in Canada and around the world. But to understand the potential of Canadian AI, you have to see how it is already working to improve the lives of people. How a Canadian pediatric cardiologist in Halifax named Dr. Robert Chen is using the AI application he built to diagnose heart murmurs in newborns. His technology could cut down wait times by many months for anxious parents to see a specialist, saving our health care system tens of millions of dollars.
You have to see how a Canadian AI company called Croptimistic is helping farmers precisely map their soil. This technology allows them to use less fertilizer, while increasing crop yield, making our food system more resilient and more affordable.
You have to see how Canadian AI is helping businesses in advanced manufacturing, auto parts, and mining stay competitive even through global trade disruptions.
These aren't isolated stories. Over 150,000 Canadian innovators employed by more than 3,500 Canadian companies are developing AI solutions that will build a stronger, more resilient economy, solve problems, serve people, and create good, high paying jobs. Canada’s new AI strategy will build on this momentum to develop a responsible, safe, and sovereign AI industry and research community — one that ensures AI will serve all Canadians, not the other way around.
Canada must be open to the enormous opportunities in AI, but we must also be candid about the real concerns. AI raises hard questions about job security, privacy, sustainability, sovereignty, and trust. Responding to these concerns and building responsible Canadian AI will not be easy, but it must be done. We will face these challenges head on.
This is exactly the pragmatic and prudent approach Canadians told us they wanted. Through our national consultation, we received more than 11,000 submissions from workers, entrepreneurs, researchers, students, and community leaders across the country. We also received insights from our 28-member expert AI Strategy Task Force. We heard from First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders, arts and culture organizations, labour and environmental groups, and many others concerned about economic growth, AI safety, and the welfare of children.
This strategy reflects their voices, their concerns, and their ambitions for our country.
We will strengthen Canadian sovereignty at a time when it is being deeply challenged. We will build a robust, advanced economy for all, where our workers and SMEs are adopting AI at a wide scale and competing globally. We will build resilience with new alliances among like-minded countries to ensure that Canadians have choices in the AI tools they use. And we will build this on a foundation of trust and safety. We will protect our children and our citizens, our culture and languages, and our democracy.
Canadians want safe, reliable, and sovereign AI. They want the best tools to build a prosperous future guided by our values. That is our plan. This is Canada's AI for All moment. Let’s seize it.
The Government’s vision: AI for All
Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of daily lives — at work, at school, at home, and in the businesses, organizations, and governments that shape our communities. What we are seeing today is only the beginning. The speed and scale of this transformation bring both promise and uncertainty about how AI will affect our jobs, privacy, security, and the institutions we rely on. For Canada to thrive in the era of AI, Canadians need to trust in its promise. Trust that they will share in its benefits and that it will be developed, adopted, and governed in ways that reflect our shared values. Trust is the north star of this strategy. Prosperity and sovereignty in this era belong to nations that can leverage trust to adopt, build, and govern AI on their own terms.
AI must also work for all Canadians, not the other way around. It must be put to work to grow our prosperity and wellbeing, promote our culture, and strengthen our communities. We envision a Canada where AI is not a threat, but a critical piece of technology which enhances everyday life for Canadians. Done right, AI can be a powerful force – harnessed with innovation and...