Mark Carney Unveils $2.3 Billion AI for All Strategy

Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the AI for All national strategy in Toronto on June 4, 2026, committing approximately $2.3 billion to position Canada as a sovereign AI leader. The plan aims to increase business AI adoption from 12% to 60% by 2034 and create between 90,000 and 340,000 AI-related jobs by 2031. To reduce dependence on foreign hyperscalers, the government will invest in sovereign compute and cloud infrastructure, including a new public supercomputer and a sovereign technology alliance with aligned democracies like Germany.

Financial allocations include $500 million for a Canadian Tech Growth Fund to take equity stakes in domestic firms, $700 million for the Compute Access Fund, and $200 million for health-focused projects to reduce ER wait times. The strategy also emphasizes public literacy, offering free AI training at libraries and seniors' centres and providing trusted AI agents to post-secondary students. To address safety, the government earmarked $50 million for the Canadian AI Safety Institute and pledged legislation to combat deepfakes, surveillance pricing, and threats to children's privacy.

While the Mila Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute and OpenAI supported the move toward commercialization and scientific excellence, the plan faced sharp criticism from opposition MPs and labor groups. Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman and NDP leader Don Davies argued the strategy lacked specific safety details and ignored the risk of mass unemployment, with some projections suggesting automation could cost Canada 550,000 jobs by 2030.