Carney Unveils New AI Strategy With Plans for ‘Large-Scale’ Data Centres

The federal government has released its artificial intelligence strategy, setting out a plan for how Canada will adopt the technology over the next decade, including the development of “large-scale” data centres and the broader use of AI across various sectors.

Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the strategy, called “AI for All,” alongside Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon at a June 4 press conference in Toronto.

“Our strategy, AI for All, is designed to put Canadians back in control, to build trust, to seize opportunities, and above all, to harness AI to improve lives, and indeed to save them,” Carney said, noting that surgeons are using AI-assisted imaging during complex procedures.

Solomon said that as Canadians have “real concerns” about trust, safety, privacy, and control when it comes to AI, the goal of the new strategy is to build trust, create opportunity, and give Canadians a “greater sense of sovereign control.”

The strategy document says Canada will build “large-scale” data centres capable of scaling to at least 100 megawatts, and that partnerships currently being finalized are expected to provide 850 megawatts of computing capacity by 2030.

“Sovereign AI starts with sovereign infrastructure,” the strategy says. “Canada needs domestic data centre capacity and cloud services.”

Canada is “highly dependent” on foreign suppliers for the infrastructure that powers AI, Carney said, noting that this creates “real risks that foreign entities could access Canadian data, deploy AI products that shape Canadian lives without reflecting our values, and tilt the playing field against Canadian firms.”

He added that most of Canada’s data used in AI goes across the border, or is governed by privacy regimes of other countries. To combat this, Canada will expand its “sovereign compute and cloud infrastructure” to reduce reliance on foreign providers.

Canada will adopt a “build-partner-buy” framework under the strategy, like in the government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, to build sovereign capabilities in Canada, partner with trusted allies when building is not possible, and buy from abroad after exhausting these options.

Canada launched a Sovereign Technology Alliance with Germany in February to strengthen cooperation with trusted allies, which Carney said the new AI strategy will expand on.

The strategy also pledges to create up to 90,000 AI-related jobs for young Canadians by 2031, including through the Student Work Placement Program and Canada Summer Jobs, as well as other initiatives.

It also projects that more than 250,000 new AI-related jobs will be created across the country by 2031, and says the government will support workers through training programs.

The strategy seeks to increase AI adoption among businesses from 12 percent to 60 percent by 2034 by boosting funding supports.

Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman said the government’s strategy is a “very ambitious” plan, but lacks “a lot of details that I think Canadians have been waiting for a very long time.”

“Today’s announcement was a lot of fanfare, short on details, a lot of hollow words from a podium,” Lantsman told reporters on Parliament Hill on June 4. “I think Canadians are expecting real answers on safety, on security, on privacy, and on the future of AI in this country.”

The strategy does not provide details on privacy, safety, and security, she said, noting that these were promised to be included in the plan.

Lantsman said Conservatives will support expanding Canadian sovereignty and community computing, adding that intellectual property should remain in Canada, but said the AI strategy “lacks any kind of detail on how to get there.”

NDP parliamentary leader Don Davies told reporters on June 2 that there are “serious pressing issues” with AI, including “the mass unemployment that it is capable of producing.”

“I think our government is asleep at the switch as it were because I think that technology is moving much more rapidly and we don’t have any guardrails around it,” Davies said.

Protections

Carney said the government will introduce legislation, regulations, and standards to protect Canadians’ data, privacy, and children under the new strategy, and will modernize privacy laws and online safety legislation.

Culture Minister Marc Miller said in April that the government was “very seriously” considering age restrictions for social media and AI chatbots, noting specific concerns about chatbots acting as “companions” that could reinforce harmful thoughts or encourage self-harm in vulnerable youth. However, those restrictions are not included in the new AI strategy.

Carney said the development of child safety standards will be a priority at the G7 summit in France this month.

Other elements in the strategy include a national AI literacy initiative, expanded research to track emerging risks, $500 million in funding to expand AI adoption for small and medium-sized businesses, and building a “world-leading public AI supercomputer.”

Carney gave several examples of how AI is used in various industries, including to screen heart murmurs in infants, to reduce fertilizer use through soil mapping, and to reduce congestion on roads with AI-powered traffic lights.

He noted AI poses risks that are becoming more prevalent, including ‘deepfakes,’ unsafe chat bots, and AI-generated disinformation, but the strategy doesn’t include specific details on how the government will address those issues.