Canada introduced a national strategy on artificial intelligence that sets a target of creating 250,000 new jobs by 2031 and establishes a suite of funding and regulatory measures to support domestic AI development.
Presented in Toronto under the banner "AI for all," the plan was introduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney amid a period of growing corporate investment in AI tools intended to accelerate information processing and raise productivity across the economy.
The government projects the strategy will boost national output by roughly 3 percent, and estimates that broader commercialization and adoption of AI could unlock nearly C$200 billion in economic value. Officials noted that Canada’s digital sector presently employs about 800,000 people and contributes more than C$140 billion to gross domestic product, with some 150,000 roles directly connected to AI.
Key financial elements of the strategy include two C$500 million commitments. The Canadian Tech Growth Fund will receive C$500 million to help bridge the financing gap between domestic AI companies and larger U.S. technology firms, with the mechanism allowing the federal government to take equity positions in Canadian AI businesses. Separately, the Business Development Bank of Canada will allocate another C$500 million to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in adopting AI technologies.
On the regulatory front, the plan signals forthcoming consumer privacy legislation intended to strengthen protections for children’s information and online activity, expand consumer control over personal data, and address the challenges posed by deep fakes. The government also proposed a C$50 million investment to support monitoring of emerging AI risks and to enable more transparent evaluation of AI systems. Officials did not provide a timeline for when these regulatory measures would be implemented.
The strategy frames public investment and new rules as complementary tools to increase the commercial scale and marketplace adoption of AI, while aiming to preserve consumer protections. The plan’s fiscal elements and stated GDP and job targets provide concrete markers against which progress may be assessed over the coming decade.