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(Bloomberg) — Canada will provide funding to help artificial intelligence companies scale up, and plans to take equity stakes in the country’s most promising AI firms to accelerate the creation of so-called “national champions”.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government released a plan on Thursday to promote AI adoption across sectors and government, while safeguarding against the risks the technology can pose. By 2034, the government aims to have 60% of Canadian businesses use AI tools, up from 12%.
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The plan earmarks billions of dollars to increase adoption, commercialization and sovereign computing capacity, including a C$500 million ($360 million) Canadian Tech Growth Fund to provide “flexible growth capital and investment support” for startups.
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“Canada must adopt policies similar to those of France, Japan, and now the United States, and take equity stakes in its best technology companies to cultivate and sustain their growth in Canada and around the world, to secure its AI supply chain, and to ensure that Canadians also share the dividends of successful Canadian champions,” the government’s strategy document says.
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Carney’s recently announced sovereign wealth fund might also invest in those companies, it said.
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The sovereign wealth fund was announced in April with an initial C$25 billion grant, and aims to give Canadians an opportunity to invest in what the government calls nation-building projects. It’s still consulting on the structure and has provided few details on how it will work.
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The AI strategy identifies several sectors the government will be focused on: health and life sciences, energy and natural resources, transportation, agriculture and manufacturing and robotics.
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Canada has set ambitious economic targets for its AI strategy, including creating as many as 250,000 new jobs by 2031 and a 3% increase in gross domestic product. It’s also aiming to boost AI literacy in schools, including by providing all university and college students with access to AI agents.
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The government also promised Thursday to bring in new laws to protect Canadians’ privacy and safety, and to safeguard consumers surveillance pricing — an issue the opposition New Democratic Party has raised.
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The Manitoba government has brought forward legislation to ban surveillance pricing, which refers to using customers’ personal data to determine the prices they can be charged for products.
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