EH-I FOR ALL: Carney bets big on new AI strategy
· Toronto Sun
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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled Canada’s long-awaited AI strategy on Thursday.
Speaking at an event at Toronto General Hospital, Carney said Canada’s new “AI for all” strategy — which covers everything from job creation to prosperity and sovereignty — will help position Canada as a world leader in artificial intelligence.
“The question isn’t whether AI will transform our lives — it will,” Carney said, joined on the dais by Canada’s AI Minister Evan Solomon at a press conference that started nearly 40 minutes late.
“AI is already changing how we work, how we learn, and how we connect. The question is: will it improve the lives of all Canadians, or benefit only a few?”
The new strategy is based upon six strategic pillars — protecting Canadians and safeguarding democracy, empowering Canadians with AI skills and literacy, powering adoption of the new technology, creating a sovereign AI foundation meant to grow made-in-Canada AI solutions, bolstering existing Canadian AI powerhouses, and building AI-based partnerships around the world.
The goals of the strategy are manifold — including driving commercial adoption of AI from today’s 12% to nearly 60% by 2034, protecting Canadians from privacy, data and harms posed to youth, encouraging the creation of 250,000 new jobs and over 90,000 AI-related job placements for young Canadians, and around $200-billion in gains to Canada’s GDP, representing 3% growth.
“Among small and medium-sized businesses, adoption is even lower,” Carney said.
“We are highly dependent on foreign suppliers for the infrastructure that powers AI, from computer to cloud to data storage.”
Canada has what it takes to be AI superpower, Carney says
Carney said Canada is well-positioned to become a world leader in AI.
“We are an energy superpower — we’re committed to doubling our electricity grid, building on the lowest-cost power in the G7, and the second-lowest emission power in the broader OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,” Carney said on Thursday.
“We have the most educated population in the world, including experts with deep expertise in AI, robotics and quantum.”
Carney also described Canada as a “pluralistic society that works” and a “stable, reliable partner in a world that is anything but.”
Despite this, Carney claimed that Canada ranks near the bottom percent of countries when it comes to AI training, literacy and trust.
“Deepfakes, unsafe chatbots, AI-generated disinformation are becoming more prevalent,” he said.
“The privacy of Canadians is under threat.”
While Canada’s strategy lacks crucial details on how this risk will be mitigated, the policy promises to modernize privacy legislation, introduce online safety laws, protect elections and Canada’s democracy from AI-powered foreign interference, and continue ongoing reviews of the Privacy Act.