TORONTO, June 4, 2026 – The federal government released its new national artificial intelligence strategy, “AI for All,” in Toronto on June 4, outlining new legislation, investments and programs to promote the responsible use of AI over the next five years. The Prime Minister’s Office said the strategy aims to generate an additional $200 billion in economic growth, create 250,000 AI-related jobs, and raise AI adoption among Canadian businesses from just over 12% today to 60% by 2034. For the GTA technology sector, international students, job seekers, small and medium-sized businesses and content creators, AI policy is no longer only an industry issue. It may also affect employment, training, privacy protection and the use of public services.
Prime Minister Carney announced the strategy in Toronto. Reuters reported that the plan includes a $500-million Canadian Technology Growth Fund to support the growth of domestic AI companies. The government also plans to use a $500-million program through the Business Development Bank of Canada to help small and medium-sized businesses access AI tools.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, “AI for All” is built around three principles: building trust, creating opportunity and strengthening Canadian sovereignty. The trust component includes updating Canada’s digital-era legislative framework, strengthening personal information protection, addressing risks such as deepfakes and surveillance pricing, and improving AI transparency. The government also said it will expand the capacity of the Canadian AI Safety Institute to conduct transparent assessments of AI models.
Employment and training are another major focus. The federal government said it will launch a national AI literacy program to provide entry-level AI training for Canadians, expose one million postsecondary students to AI learning content, and provide AI learning tools to more than 3,000 educators. The strategy also proposes creating up to 90,000 AI-related jobs and internship opportunities for young Canadians, while supporting small and medium-sized businesses in adopting AI in health care, energy, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, robotics and government services.
For newcomers and Chinese communities, the impact of AI may first appear in job searching and small business operations. More employers are using automated tools to screen resumes, manage customer service and support internal operations. Content creators, marketers and small businesses are also increasingly using AI to generate copy, images, customer replies and data analysis. Whether the policy can truly help ordinary workers depends on whether training is easy to access, affordable, and understandable for people without a technology background.
However, the expansion of AI also brings new uncertainty. The Associated Press reported that Carney warned foreign AI platforms could be used to influence Canadian interests, and said Canada currently relies too heavily on foreign suppliers, with insufficient control over data, cloud platforms and critical infrastructure. The new strategy proposes building Canadian sovereign AI capacity, including computing, cloud, connectivity, data and talent, and plans to build a public AI supercomputer.
AI adoption among Canadian businesses remains limited. A Bank of Canada article in May showed that about 12% of Canadian businesses were using AI in 2025, but adoption differed significantly by industry. Accommodation and food services were at about 1.5%, while finance and insurance exceeded 30%. This means AI investment and training opportunities may not be distributed evenly across all sectors. Whether low-income workers, small businesses and non-tech industries can truly benefit remains to be seen.
At this stage, the federal government has set out the strategic direction and some investment plans, but regulatory details involving privacy protection, children’s online safety, deepfakes, surveillance pricing and AI model assessment still depend on future legislation and enforcement mechanisms. For residents and businesses, the key issue in AI policy is not only the speed of technological development, but whether the government can build clear responsibility, transparency and appeal channels while promoting jobs and industrial investment.（LJI by Yuanyuan）
