OTTAWA — A long-overdue "starting gun" has been fired with Canada's new AI strategy, but experts warn that ambitious plans require concrete follow-through to avoid gathering dust.
Reaction to the government's long-awaited AI strategy, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday, has been wide-ranging. Canadian AI pioneer and University of Alberta Professor Jonathan Schaeffer told the Toronto Sun that the government must ensure AI for All does not become another forgotten document.
"We haven't heard all the details, but if the government can actually execute on this strategy, and do it the way the document talks, with the appropriate funding, with the appropriate speed, then we have a real opportunity to do great things for this country," he said.
"Standing still, which is a typical Canadian strategy, doesn't work … we're either in the game to win or we're a non-player. With this strategy, we're in the game to win."
Key Elements of the AI Strategy
Canada's new AI strategy, according to the government, includes increasing commercial AI adoption, protecting privacy and data, generating 250,000 new AI-related jobs, and generating about $200-billion in GDP gains.
"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to compete with all of the big players in the world, and compete on even footing," Schaeffer said.
"The strategy is long overdue, but now is better than later … It's got enormous breadth, it documents everything that needs to be done. That in itself is a concern, because there's just so much that needs to be done."
Criticism from News Publishers
Canada's news publishers, however, said critical issues are still missing from the document.
"The fact that the word copyright doesn't appear once in the 50-page strategy is a miss when it comes to protecting Canadian culture, voices, and stories," said Paul Deegan, CEO of News Media Canada.
"The strategy does not offer protections for journalistic content, nor does it mitigate the societal risks of the brazen theft of IP by the AI companies, which is happening on an industrial scale."
They maintain the government should ensure measures exist to prohibit content and data mining from Canadian news publications.
"In short, the Government of Canada should stop doing business with businesses — whether they are foreign or domestic — that steal from Canadian news businesses and other players in the creative economy," News Media Canada said.
"In the face of misinformation, disinformation and threats to Canadian sovereignty, identity, and unity, there is an urgent need to protect and control Canadian trusted, verified IP and to keep its value in Canada for Canadians."
Digital Sovereignty at Risk
Sovereignty should be at the centre of any Canadian AI strategy, Schaeffer said. He noted that Canada is a world leader at developing AI technology but terrible at commercializing it, leaving the country at the mercy of American tech giants.
"We are still dependent upon, to be cynical, the multi-trillion dollar U.S. companies that provide many of the services that we have in Canada," he said.
"We don't have digital sovereignty. If heaven forbid the U.S. put tariffs on digital products and services, we could be in a lot of trouble in this country."
The strategy marks a pivotal moment for Canada, but experts and industry groups agree that execution will determine whether it leads to true digital independence or remains a missed opportunity.
