Technology executives and business groups have expressed cautious optimism about Canada's updated national artificial intelligence strategy, unveiled on Thursday after a five-month delay. While they acknowledge the $2.3 billion plan is a step in the right direction, they are calling for more concrete details on how the funds will help companies secure contracts and scale into globally competitive players.
Key Components of the AI for All Strategy
The strategy includes measures to spur business adoption of AI, back high-potential AI companies, and expand infrastructure buildout. It also outlines funding for literacy, skills training, and AI-related job creation amid low public trust in the technology.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the plan will generate $200 billion in economic growth and create 250,000 new AI-related jobs over five years.
Concerns About Ecosystem Fragmentation
Avery Pennarun, co-founder and CEO of Toronto's Tailscale Inc., warned that the biggest risk is Canada building a collection of AI programs rather than a cohesive ecosystem. He emphasized that if Canadian buyers do not become early customers for domestic companies, those firms will relocate to where the first serious customers are.
Laurent Carbonneau, vice-president of policy and advocacy at the Canadian Council of Innovators, noted that while the strategy contains promising measures, it lacks a focused blueprint to help homegrown companies scale and risks spreading resources too thin.
Focus on Scaling and Procurement
Ottawa has repeatedly stated its goal to create and support tech champions like Toronto AI startup Cohere Inc. To this end, the government will launch a $500-million Canadian Tech Growth Fund that offers financing for high-potential companies, potentially taking equity stakes.
Louis Têtu, executive chair of Coveo Solutions Inc., stressed that while startup support is valuable, helping scale-ups is more critical. He argued that AI companies need contracts, not subsidies.
The government has committed to fast-tracking homegrown procurement and serving as a strategic anchor customer through its Buy Canadian policy, but the strategy lacks further details. Taleeb Noormohamed, parliamentary secretary to the AI and Digital Innovation Minister, cited the government's purchase of 1,400 AI licenses from Cohere as a first example.
Coveo signed an agreement with Ottawa last year that could see its technology used in public services. Têtu noted that 95% of Coveo's revenue comes from clients outside Canada.
Pennarun suggested Canada should buy, fund, and hold its own winners, but a growth fund will only help if it addresses core issues like slow-moving capital and looking beyond frontier model developers for champions.
