Last week, Canada’s AI Strategy Working Group gave Ottawa a set of recommendations to shape our country’s approach to artificial intelligence. This is not just another political discussion; This is about Canada’s economic future, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
AI is poised to create the most significant competitive divide in the last two centuries. More than industrialization, automation or robotics. The next quantum leap in productivity will be so significant that the world will quickly divide between those who adopt AI and those who do not. There will be no middle ground.
To put it bluntly: we will either build an economy of owners and adopters or we will be relegated to an outsourcing arm of the global AI ecosystem.
The case of speed
The evidence in favor of acting quickly is overwhelming.
A study for Forum IA Québec found that if the province significantly increased AI adoption, its GDP could grow by up to 14 per cent by 2035. An Accenture report forecast that by 2030, generative AI could generate $180 billion in annual productivity benefits for Canada.
However, today, fewer than 1 in 10 Canadian companies classify their AI adoption as advanced.
It’s about more than automation and efficiency: doing more. It’s about competition: each person does more on their own, augmented by greater ability. That’s why Canadian companies must go beyond pilots and science projects and focus on generating real business results. Our standard of living depends on it.
The need to industrialize AI at scale across Canada
Canada’s contribution to AI science is undeniable. Our country pioneered fundamental AI research and today 10 per cent of the world’s top AI researchers are located here in Canada, the second highest concentration of any country. However, we have not been able to monetize these contributions.
For Canada to reap the benefits of a technology it helped create, we must focus on applied AI, the most effective way to usher in AI industrialization.
This approach is based on the development of a sovereign national infrastructure that is not isolationist. A national AI network accessible to all and designed to be actionable, scalable, fast and repeatable. In short, a utility that all companies, all SMEs, all research institutions, all hospitals and all government departments can connect and use.
Think of it like the vast railway network that Canada built over 150 years ago. At that time, we did not imagine the prosperity that would be unleashed. But we knew that Canada would not be the nation it is today if the railway were built by foreign interests. We understood that authority over innovative infrastructure was control over our economic destiny.
Today, with artificial intelligence, Canada finds itself at a similar pivotal moment in its history. The infrastructure we control – or don’t control – will determine Canada’s economic future.
Adoption, talent, hiring.
But infrastructure alone will not drive transformation. As a country, we also need to drive adoption across the economy; Double down on top talent that will help Canadian companies implement AI to create competitiveness and value for Canadians.
Canada’s strong talent pool is indisputable. However, as the race for AI intensifies, we must do a much better job of creating, attracting and retaining talent. Because? Because the biggest barrier to the adoption of AI is the lack of technology and talent applied in AI within our companies and institutions. AI transformation requires people who understand the technology from within.
For too long we have allowed our best minds to be recruited by foreign multinationals, even when they worked on our soil. It is urgent that we create powerful incentives for our best talent to work for Canadian companies and develop their careers here at home.
Furthermore, if Ottawa is serious about positioning Canada at the forefront of the AI revolution, the government will need to adopt bold and pragmatic policies that live up to its ambitions. The government cannot simply defend AI: it must lead with concrete actions. Our federal government spends billions each year on IT, but anyone who has spent hours on the phone with a government agency knows that significant improvements need to be made.
By prioritizing the acquisition of AI technology from local companies, for example, the government could simultaneously modernize its own operations and expand our domestic AI industry. Applying national security and national interest exemptions to prioritize Canadian AI companies, a practice already used in other strategic sectors, would be a powerful first step.
This would create a virtuous cycle: Ottawa improves service delivery, our AI companies gain anchor customers, and we build an ecosystem that keeps intellectual property, talent and profits in Canada, and then we can export the model.
The time is now
Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, has set out this government’s ambitions when it comes to AI. He has articulated this vision in line with the tremendous opportunity that AI adoption presents for Canada and Canadians.
I am convinced that we can translate that vision into a prosperous economic future by focusing on the industrialization of AI, investing in its commercial adoption, creating strong incentives to secure top talent, and implementing a “buy Canadian” strategy.
One of my engineering professors once told me, “Go beyond technological fascination. Deliver effective solutions!” Canada needs it, fast.
Louis Têtu is CEO of Coveo Solutions Inc. and a member of the Canadian AI Strategy Working Group.
