Canada accelerates AI strategy two years early with task force and quantum push

Ottawa forms AI task force and fast-tracks a refreshed strategy

MONTREAL - The federal government is assembling a task force to guide its next steps on artificial intelligence, and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says a refreshed national AI strategy will be tabled later this year-nearly two years ahead of plan.

"We need to update and move quickly," Solomon told the All In AI conference in Montreal, signaling urgency on research, deployment, and governance across the public and private sectors.

What the task force will do

The task force will include about 20 representatives from industry, academia, and civil society. Membership will be announced later this week. Members will consult their networks, bring forward bold, practical recommendations, and report back in November.

• Research and commercialization
• Adoption and investment
• Infrastructure and skills
• Safety and security

Public input will also be part of the process.

Context: Canada's AI strategy

Canada was the first country to launch a national AI strategy, updated in 2022, with a focus on commercialization, standards, talent, and research. A further update this year signals a push to move from pilots to deployment while tightening safeguards and standards.

For background on the existing framework, see the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy overview from CIFAR here.

Quantum initiative and digital sovereignty

Solomon previewed a major quantum initiative for October aimed at keeping talent and intellectual property in Canada. The objective: build companies that stay, grow, and compete globally-rather than being acquired and moved.

He called digital sovereignty "the most pressing policy and democratic issue of our time," arguing that Canada needs a resilient digital economy "that someone else can't decide to turn off."

From megaprojects to digital infrastructure

Solomon compared today's AI framework conversations to past national projects like the railroad and highway systems. The message to governments: digital infrastructure-compute, data, standards, and secure connectivity-is core economic infrastructure.

Privacy, safety, and public trust

Solomon emphasized trust-building: privacy reform, protections against deepfakes and scams, and safeguards for children. He said the government will set clear standards for data use so innovators have certainty while the public has confidence.

He underscored a core principle: sensitive health, financial, and personal data must be governed by Canadian law. For operational guidance inside government, review the Directive on Automated Decision-Making and the Algorithmic Impact Assessment here.

Public service use cases and procurement

After his keynote, Solomon joined a panel with Cohere, the Toronto firm that recently signed an agreement with the federal government to support AI in the public service. Expect continued pilots with Canadian vendors, with stronger guardrails on privacy, model evaluation, and data residency.

What this means for public servants

Agencies should prepare for tighter standards, faster deployment cycles, and more scrutiny on data protection. The direction is clear: accelerate adoption where benefits are proven, while reinforcing privacy, security, and transparency.

• Inventory current and planned AI projects; flag those touching sensitive data.
• Stand up or update an AI governance board with legal, privacy, and security leads.
• Prioritize data classification, retention, and access controls; validate Canadian data residency for sensitive workloads.
• Adopt model evaluation steps: bias checks, red-teaming, performance monitoring, and human-in-the-loop for high-impact decisions.
• Prepare procurement templates that include safety, privacy, incident response, and IP terms for AI systems.
• Plan workforce training for policy, technical, and frontline teams.

Timeline to watch

• October: Federal quantum initiative announcement.
• November: Task force delivers recommendations to the minister.
• Later this year: Refreshed national AI strategy released.

How to engage

Departments should coordinate submissions to the task force once public input opens. Share operational constraints, procurement realities, and priority use cases where AI can deliver measurable outcomes with clear safeguards.

Upskill your team

If you're building internal capability for safe, effective AI adoption in government roles, explore practical training options by job function to accelerate skills without sacrificing compliance.

Bottom line: expect speed with guardrails. The federal signal is to invest in Canadian AI, protect sensitive data under Canadian law, and build the digital infrastructure needed for long-term economic resilience.