Why Canada must lead in AI with focus, integrity, and intent

In this Financial Post piece, our Executive Chairman Louis Tetu Têtu shares why Canada’s success in artificial intelligence won’t come from chasing hype, but from building the infrastructure, skills, and governance needed to operationalize AI at scale - securely, ethically, and productively.

Canada Launches Public Consultation to Shape Its Next National AI Strategy The Government of Canada has opened a 30-day public consultation to design its next national AI strategy. The consultation is led by a newly formed 27-member AI Strategy Task Force composed of industry, academic, and civil society leaders from eight priority areas. Key aims include: - Defining AI investment, infrastructure, and adoption policies - Promoting commercialization and skills development - Building safe AI systems and public trust - Securing digital sovereignty in a shifting geopolitical landscape This approach seeks to position Canada at the forefront of the AI revolution and will inform a renewed national strategy set to be released in the coming months. The government will also share global insights on digitally enabled public services at the upcoming AccelerateGOV conference in December. This marks a pivotal moment to shape Canada’s AI future inclusively and strategically. Source: https://lnkd.in/dbMKNBT5 👉👉 Follow Us ✨ 🙏 ➡️ Global AI Talks 🌎✨ 📌Country Pages🎯 ➡️ US AI Talks 🇺🇸 ➡️ UK AI Talks 🇬🇧 ➡️ Canada AI Talks 🇨🇦 ➡️ India AI Talks 🇮🇳 #ArtificialIntelligence #CanadaAI #PublicPolicy #Innovation #DigitalSovereignty

Canada’s $3.65T Growth Hinges on AI Adoption: PwC Canada’s economy could grow to $3.65 trillion over the next decade, but only if the country addresses its lag in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, according to a new report from PwC Canada. The Value in Motion: Canada’s Moment to Capture New Growth report, released recently, outlines how global megatrends such as climate change, geopolitical shifts, and the advancement of AI are reshaping industries and creating opportunities for cross-sector collaboration. https://lnkd.in/g_btXEEU #CanadaGrowth #AIAdoption #ArtificialIntelligence #BusinessInnovation #TechTransformation #PWC #EconomicGrowth #DigitalEconomy #FutureOfWork PwC Nochane Rousseau Chris Mar

Canada is about to make a once-in-a-generation decision about its digital future. The question isn’t whether we’ll build AI infrastructure — it’s who will own it. OpenAI’s reported talks with Ottawa about building AI data centres expose a deeper contradiction in our national strategy. Canada wants to lead in AI infrastructure — while keeping Canadian data under Canadian control. Those goals don’t align easily. Foreign partnerships bring scale and speed. But once Canadian data is stored or processed under foreign law, the ability to govern and profit from it moves outside the country. We’ve seen this pattern before. For a century, Canada exported resources and imported value — lumber to finished goods, oil to refined products, minerals to manufactured wealth. If we’re not careful, data will follow the same path: extracted here, processed elsewhere, and monetized abroad. Canada can’t afford isolation. Competing in the AI economy requires global capital, talent, and reach. But nor can we hand over the keys to the systems that will define our future. Energy will power artificial intelligence. Control over data — and the laws that govern it — will determine who benefits.

Why Canadian AI companies have a trust advantage nobody's talking about: While Silicon Valley races to deploy and Brussels races to regulate, Canada's doing something different and it's becoming a competitive moat. Think about it: Canada produced the godfathers of modern AI (Hinton, Bengio, Sutskever). Our research institutions lead in responsible AI development. Our privacy regulations actually protect people. And our cultural approach balances innovation with accountability. This matters more than you'd think. When I talk to enterprises evaluating AI partners, "trust" comes up in every conversation. They've seen the headlines about biased algorithms, privacy breaches, and regulatory fines. They're looking for partners who build responsibility into design, not bolt it on after. That's Canada's edge. We're not the fastest at deployment. We're not the flashiest at funding rounds. But we're building AI systems that companies can actually trust to scale—because ethics and explainability are part of the foundation, not an afterthought. In a market increasingly concerned about AI risk, "the company that does it responsibly" is a powerful position. Canadian AI companies inherit that positioning automatically. It's not about being cautious. It's about being strategic. The trust economy is real. And Canada is uniquely positioned to win in it. How important is "trust" in your organization's AI vendor selection? #CanadianAI #AIEthics #TrustAdvantage

Global AI Leader Seeks Strategic Deal with Canada One of the world’s largest AI companies proposed a strategic partnership with Canada on November 3, 2025. The deal focuses on collaborative development and deployment of advanced AI technologies within Canada’s borders. Key points include: - Potential economic growth through AI innovation - Balance of national sovereignty against foreign partnership benefits - Raising discussions on data control and technology governance This move highlights Canada’s growing role in the global AI ecosystem and challenges policymakers to reconcile opportunity with sovereignty concerns. Source: https://lnkd.in/dDseRB8E 👉👉 Follow Us ✨ 🙏 ➡️ Global AI Talks 🌎✨ 📌Country Pages🎯 ➡️ US AI Talks 🇺🇸 ➡️ UK AI Talks 🇬🇧 ➡️ Canada AI Talks 🇨🇦 ➡️ India AI Talks 🇮🇳 #ArtificialIntelligence #CanadaTech #DigitalSovereignty #AIPartnership #Innovation

Artificial intelligence is poised to become a transformative growth driver for African economies, which will also export its own AI in the coming years, according to the head of a data infrastructure company. #FortuneGlobalForum https://trib.al/HHt9kyP

🚨💶 €𝟭 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗨’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘁𝘆. The European Commission just announced a new plan to boost AI adoption across 10 key sectors, from healthcare and energy to defense and manufacturing. The goal = Turn Europe from a cautious regulator into an active builder. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 ➸ Strategic autonomy over “just keeping up” Europe wants to reduce its dependence on U.S. and Chinese tech and reclaim control over the technologies shaping global power. ➸ From regulation to activation After years spent defining the AI Act, the Commission is shifting from regulating innovation to deploying it, helping businesses and researchers adopt AI responsibly and at scale. ➸ A test of cohesion Success will depend on execution, coordination among member states, startups, industry clusters, and research centers will be critical. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺: 1. Startups may finally access real funding and partnerships to scale. 2. Research centers could bridge faster with industry. 3. Large corporations may be incentivized to adopt home-grown AI tools instead of relying on U.S. or Chinese systems. ➝ In 2025, we’re not just watching a digital revolution, we’re witnessing the foundation of a new world order built around intelligence itself. 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.

Bell and Simon Fraser University have signed an agreement to significantly advance Canada's AI and supercomputing capabilities. It’s exciting to see how Bell is investing in Canada’s sovereign AI capacity and supporting businesses with the tools to succeed. Read the press release to learn more details about this exciting announcement.

AI won’t just change what we do — it will change how we think about progress. Canada’s new Minister of Digital Innovation and AI has invited ideas on how we can lead in this emerging field. That’s the right question — but the harder one is: how do we turn AI from research excellence into real results? AI is not a sector — it’s a systems transformation. It will redefine how governments spend, how industries create value, and how citizens learn and work. But adoption, not invention, is where Canada now risks falling behind. In my latest Substack essay, I explore how we can: Move from research to experimentation, turning universities into Living Labs for AI adoption. Focus on adoption and transitions, ensuring AI enhances rather than displaces human capability. Treat AI as a discipline of learning, measuring what works, what fails, and how we improve. Build data sovereignty and public trust at the core of our AI strategy. If we get this right, AI can become Canada’s next productivity revolution. If we get it wrong, we risk another decade of lost potential. 👉 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gJzjJtq2 💬 Join the conversation: How should Canada structure its AI strategy to deliver results across research, education, and government? #AI #InnovationPolicy #Productivity #Canada #DigitalTransformation #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #HigherEducation #ResearchToResults #InnovationDoctor If you read this and want more - please like it and join my Substack (It is and always will be free)