Prime Minister Mark Carney has launched a new national artificial intelligence strategy aimed at speeding up adoption, creating jobs and strengthening Canada’s control over key digital infrastructure.
Announced in Toronto on Thursday, the plan, called AI for All, is the federal government’s latest effort to position Canada more competitively in a rapidly expanding global AI market. Officials said the strategy is designed to make AI more widely accessible while addressing concerns about trust, privacy and economic sovereignty.
The government says the five-year strategy could add up to $200 billion in economic growth and create 250,000 AI-related jobs. It also sets a target of lifting AI adoption in Canada from just over 12% to 60% by 2034. As part of the plan, Ottawa says it wants to create up to 90,000 jobs and work placements for young Canadians.
Carney said the question is no longer whether AI will shape the future, but who benefits from it. In announcing the strategy, he argued that Canada needs to ensure the technology improves services, supports businesses and reflects Canadian values rather than concentrating gains in the hands of a few.
The federal plan is built around three themes: building trust, creating opportunity and reinforcing sovereignty.
On trust, the government says it will modernize digital-era laws to better protect personal information and reduce risks linked to AI. That includes stronger safeguards against deepfakes and surveillance pricing, along with an online safety regime for social media and chatbot users. Ottawa also wants more transparency around AI systems and plans to expand the Canadian AI Safety Institute so it can evaluate models more openly.
The strategy also calls for deeper cooperation with allied countries on research, talent, computing power and procurement. A newly created Sovereign Technology Alliance is meant to attract foreign investment, spotlight Canadian expertise abroad and help domestic firms reach new markets.
To create opportunity, the government plans to launch a National AI Literacy Initiative that will provide introductory training to Canadians. Officials say the program could reach 1 million post-secondary students and train more than 3,000 educators with classroom learning kits. The strategy also promises trusted AI agents for every post-secondary student, no matter their field of study.
Small and medium-sized businesses are another focus. Ottawa says it wants to help them adopt AI tools to improve productivity and support workers in sectors such as health care, energy, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, robotics and government services.
The government also plans an AI Missions Program, starting with a health care initiative intended to speed up use of AI in diagnostics, patient care and system efficiency.
A major part of the announcement is centered on digital sovereignty. The government says it will work to build Canadian compute, cloud, connectivity, data and talent capacity so researchers, businesses and public institutions can use AI on Canadian terms.
That includes plans for a world-leading public AI supercomputer and new investment in sovereign computing and cloud infrastructure. Ottawa said the buildout should align with clean energy expansion, environmental standards and local community benefits.
The strategy also aims to support Canadian AI companies through more access to growth capital, procurement opportunities and intellectual property support. On the talent side, the government wants to expand the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research AI Chairs program and speed entry for highly skilled workers through the Global Talent Stream.
Officials said the plan was shaped by consultations with more than 11,000 contributors, including workers, entrepreneurs, researchers, students and community leaders. Canada already has AI research hubs in Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton, and the government said existing international partnerships will help underpin the next phase of the country’s AI development.
The announcement reflects a broader effort by Ottawa to present AI not only as an economic opportunity, but also as an issue of public trust, workforce adaptation and national control over technology infrastructure.