Canada Launches National AI Strategy to Create 250000 Jobs by 2031

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada’s new national artificial intelligence strategy called AI for All on June 4 in Toronto. The ambitious plan aims to create 250,000 jobs by 2031 and boost the country’s gross domestic product by 3 percent, unlocking nearly 200 billion Canadian dollars through increased AI adoption across key industries. Canada currently has about 150,000 workers in AI roles and over 800,000 in its broader digital sector, making it one of the largest tech workforces in the G7.

A 500 Million Dollar Bet on Canadian AI Companies

At the center of the strategy is a 500 million Canadian dollar Tech Growth Fund designed to close the scale-up capital gap between Canadian and American AI companies. The fund will provide flexible growth capital and allow the federal government to take equity positions in the country’s most promising AI firms, a significant shift in how Ottawa supports the tech sector. A separate 500 million dollar initiative through the Business Development Bank of Canada will help small and medium businesses access AI tools and financing. The government has also committed to delivering at least 850 megawatts of computing power by 2030, including plans for a public AI supercomputer. These investments build on more than 2 billion dollars the government has already put toward AI infrastructure and research.

Safety, Skills, and Privacy Protections

Canada is pairing its economic push with strong new safeguards. A 50 million dollar investment will fund the expanded Canadian AI Safety Institute to evaluate AI models and track emerging risks from increasingly powerful systems. The strategy also promises up to 90,000 AI job placements for young people, positioning Canada as what officials call an AI skills nation. New consumer privacy legislation will strengthen protections for children’s data online, combat deep fakes created by generative AI tools, and give citizens more control over their personal information.

The six-pillar strategy takes a deliberately worker-centered approach, emphasizing that AI should augment human expertise rather than replace it. By focusing on moving workers into higher-value roles while driving productivity gains, the government hopes to strengthen Canada’s competitiveness against larger AI powers like the United States and China. The strategy does not yet include specific timelines for the new privacy regulations.