Canada unveils five-year AI strategy with 250,000 new jobs and multibillion-dollar investments

Canada has presented an ambitious national strategy for artificial intelligence that combines large-scale public investment, free training for citizens, safeguards for fundamental rights, and major upgrades to digital infrastructure. The five-year plan, branded “AI for All”, aims to ensure that the economic and social benefits of AI are shared widely rather than captured by a narrow group.

The strategy, outlined in Toronto and accompanied by a government briefing, links AI development with national sovereignty, clean energy and cooperation with trusted international partners, while also responding to growing public concern over data centres and advanced AI risks.

Main goals of the “AI for All” strategy

At the heart of the new policy is the promise that artificial intelligence should tangibly improve everyday life in Canada. According to the government, broader adoption of AI could, for example, shorten waiting times in hospital emergency departments and help small businesses compete more effectively, provided that systems are built in line with Canadian values and clear public-interest goals.

The strategy spans five years and rests on three pillars:

• Trust and legal safeguards – introducing regulatory and legal frameworks designed to protect citizens and build confidence in AI systems.
• Development and investment – supporting innovation and adoption of AI through targeted funding and incentives.
• Technological and economic sovereignty – strengthening Canada’s own infrastructure and capabilities so key AI systems are not fully dependent on foreign providers.

Over CAD 2 billion for AI and 250,000 new jobs

The federal government plans to commit more than 2 billion Canadian dollars to the AI sector under this strategy. The objective is to accelerate the uptake of AI tools and services across the economy and to generate additional GDP growth.

By 2031, wider use of AI is expected to create around 250,000 new jobs. A key benchmark is the spread of AI in business: the share of companies using AI technologies is supposed to rise from the current 12 percent to 60 percent by 2034. The plan assumes this expansion will touch firms of all sizes, not only large technology players.

Free AI education for all Canadians

To prepare the workforce and society for the changes brought by automation and intelligent systems, the government intends to make AI-related education freely accessible to all residents. The aim is to give people basic competencies to understand and use AI tools, as well as to offer more advanced training for those who want to work in the sector.

One of the priority programmes will focus on healthcare. Authorities want to apply AI more broadly in this field, from supporting medical diagnostics to improving the organisation of services and administrative processes, with the goal of better outcomes for patients and more efficient use of resources.

Building sovereign AI infrastructure and a world-class supercomputer

A central element of the strategy is the development of domestic AI infrastructure. By 2031, Canada plans to build a world-class supercomputer located in the country. This system is intended to provide high-performance computing capacity for research institutions, startups and industry.

Alongside the supercomputer, the government wants to expand Canadian cloud infrastructure and computing capacity. The plan emphasises environmental considerations: new data centres and cloud facilities are expected to rely on clean energy sources and deliver tangible benefits to local communities hosting them.

Existing AI institutes and new international partnerships

Canada already hosts three major national AI institutes:

• Vector Institute in Toronto
• Mila in Montreal, founded by renowned researcher Yoshua Bengio, often described as one of the “fathers of AI”
• Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) in Edmonton

The new strategy seeks to deepen cooperation with foreign partners while maintaining control over critical technologies. Canada plans to work with “trusted allies” and to encourage them, under the banner of a Sovereign Technology Alliance, to invest in AI projects on Canadian soil.

Ottawa also intends to expand a set of 12 existing international partnerships to include AI-related cooperation. Among these frameworks is an agreement with the European Union, which could serve as a platform for aligning rules and standards around trustworthy AI.

Debate over AI risks and resistance to local data centres

The rapid development of AI infrastructure has sparked political and public debate. A cross-party group of Canadian parliamentarians recently endorsed a campaign calling on the federal government to pursue international agreements aimed at reducing the risk of a hypothetical superintelligent AI system that could pose a threat to humanity. The initiative is led by the UK-based non-profit Control AI, which is also active in Canada, the United States and Germany.

At the same time, Canadian media have repeatedly highlighted the construction of large AI data centres and the reactions of nearby communities. A survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute found that 68 percent of Canadians oppose building such facilities in their immediate neighbourhood. Opposition is even higher in rural areas, where 73 percent of respondents declared that they do not want large AI computing centres next to where they live.

Balancing the need for powerful infrastructure with environmental concerns and local resistance is likely to be one of the key challenges for implementing Canada’s new AI strategy, even as the country seeks to position itself as a leader in responsible and inclusive AI development.