A leaked draft of Canada’s forthcoming AI strategy reportedly proposes establishing a Canadian Tech Growth Fund alongside a large number of other measures intended to push the country’s pace of AI adoption and commercialization.
The news: On Monday, CBC News reported it had obtained a draft copy of the strategy, titled “AI for All.” The fund it proposes will reportedly allow the Canadian government to take equity stakes in AI companies. CBC also reported that Canada plans to use the recently launched sovereign wealth fund to invest in its emerging “national champions.”
The draft strategy also reportedly earmarks more funding for the AI Compute Access Fund, hundreds of millions of dollars for Canada’s network of national AI institutes, establishes the federal government as a “strategic anchor customer” for domestic scale-ups, and supports constructing 100-megawatt AI data centres for Canadian clients.
The draft obtained by the CBC was reportedly presented to the federal cabinet last week, but is not a final copy and could still be revised. The final strategy is expected to officially drop sometime this week.
From the source: According to the CBC, the draft strategy sets out to create up to 90,000 AI-related jobs and work opportunities for young Canadians. It would also support the creation of up to 250,000 new jobs through AI adoption by 2031.
Following the thread: The federal AI strategy, spearheaded by AI Minister Evan Solomon, was originally slated to be released before the end of last year, following a 30-day consultation sprint in October. BetaKit’s analysis of those consultations shows that Canadians are concerned about ensuring the strategy both addresses ethical governance concerns and spurs economic growth. Business leaders say that Canada lags in commercialization and lacks the domestic computing capacity and capital to harness the full potential of the technology.
Last week, Solomon’s parliamentary secretary said the strategy will help the government make different choices around procurement, support, and providing capital to build up the industry.
Final thought: An official with knowledge of the strategy told CBC that its focus is on increasing AI adoption, trust, and sovereign control. The strategy reportedly cites a KPMG–University of Melbourne study that ranked Canada near the bottom of multiple lists, including in AI knowledge, use, and trust.
Feature Image courtesy Lilac for BetaKit.