Nearly 2,000 pre-budget submissions put AI and digital policy centre stage

AI and digital policy dominate pre-budget submissions: What federal leaders need to decide now

Ottawa has seen nearly 2,000 pre-budget submissions ahead of the Nov. 4 budget. The House finance committee alone received 948 briefs, with a large share focused on AI, digital infrastructure, identity, and compute capacity.

This is the budget where standards, funding models, and procurement signals get set. The asks are big, the timelines are tight, and the trade-offs are in plain view.

Health care: $1.1B ask to build AI capacity and literacy

HealthCareCAN is seeking more than $1 billion for AI in health care. The proposal includes $500 million for a national organization to test, evaluate, and centrally procure AI technologies, $500 million for regional hubs to implement evidence-informed solutions, and $100 million for AI and digital literacy for providers, patients, and policymakers.

For departments: this would create a consistent evaluation pipeline and reduce duplicative procurement while raising baseline skills across the system.

Digital infrastructure: Treat connectivity as a core utility

Rogers wants digital infrastructure embedded in energy corridors so connectivity is built into major projects from day one. This aligns with the federal push to speed approvals for nationally significant infrastructure via the new major projects office.

If accepted, departments overseeing approvals, permitting, and funding would need clear standards for ducting, spectrum-ready design, and long-term maintenance obligations.

Digital sovereignty: Compute, cloud, and identity without lock-in

The Council of Canadian Innovators says Canada lacks a cohesive digital sovereignty strategy. They call for sovereign compute and cloud infrastructure, Canadian security-compliant data centres, sovereign identity systems, and a regulatory framework that keeps interoperability while avoiding dependency on any single model or vendor.

Implication: Treasury Board, Shared Services, and ISED would need a common playbook for procurement, accreditation, and migration paths that reduce vendor concentration risk.

Quantum: National access to stay aligned with allies

IBM Canada is urging investment in quantum, including compute infrastructure. The concern: without access to top-tier quantum systems, Canada could lag Five Eyes partners on defence and economic applications.

Consider a funded access program, research-industry testbeds, and integration with existing HPC networks.

Digital ID and biometrics: Policy, standards, and legislation

The National Airlines Council of Canada and the Canadian Airports Council want a government-wide biometrics policy with privacy protections and technology standards, and amendments to federal acts to enable biometric use in service delivery. Toronto Pearson is pushing for a common digital ID for domestic and international travel to reduce bottlenecks.

For reference on privacy expectations, see the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's biometrics guidance: OPC on biometrics.

Public service: Guardrails, regulator, and collective agreements

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is calling for legislation that regulates all AI use and an independent AI regulator akin to the Bank of Canada's role in monetary policy. The union also wants AI addressed in future collective agreements.

Departments should map AI use across programs, define risk tiers, and prepare to bargain on transparency, training, job design, and redeployment.

Copyright and payments data: Conflicting signals

The Writers Guild of Canada wants copyright law to prevent training on copyrighted works without consent, credit, and compensation, and argues AI outputs should not be copyrightable. Visa urges the government to avoid new restrictions that could limit AI-driven fraud and threat detection across the payments system.

Policy choice: draw a bright line on training data consent and compensation, or carve out sector-specific exceptions for security functions.

Online harms: Free expression pushback

Rumble opposes online harms legislation, urging protection of a free and open internet and warning against rules that impede free expression. This will test how proposed duties of care and content rules intersect with Charter rights and enforcement practicality.

Physical AI: $1B ask for autonomous labour

Sanctuary AI is seeking $1 billion to accelerate physical AI, citing weak labour productivity projections. The pitch links autonomous labour to economic security and sovereignty.

Expect requests for pilot deployments in federal facilities and incentives for industrial adoption.

What federal leaders can do now

• Define a cross-government AI evaluation and procurement hub to reduce risk and speed adoption, starting with health and service delivery use cases.
• Set biometric and digital ID standards with privacy-by-design, independent testing, and clear redress mechanisms; identify required legislative changes early.
• Publish a sovereign compute and cloud plan with accreditation tiers, portability requirements, and concentration risk limits.
• Stand up a quantum access program tied to defence, security, and priority research missions.
• Inventory AI use across departments; prepare bargaining positions on training, job impacts, and accountability.
• Clarify copyright positions on training data and AI outputs, and define security exceptions for fraud and threat detection.
• Embed connectivity requirements into major project approvals and funding agreements.

Skills and literacy

Several submissions point to AI literacy gaps across the workforce. For teams building capability plans, a curated catalog by role can accelerate training rollout: AI courses by job.

Key date

The federal budget will be released Nov. 4, the first under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Track the process via the House finance committee: Standing Committee on Finance.