Ontario Construction New staff writer
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the federal government’s new artificial intelligence strategy but calls for strong accountability to ensure that AI development includes measurable outcomes and responsible governance.
The chamber in a statement said the strategy, called AI for All, is as a crucial step toward strengthening Canada’s productivity, competitiveness, and inclusive, long-term economic growth.
It applauded elements of the strategy such as support for small and medium-sized businesses to adopt AI, investments in domestic computing capacity, expanded access to growth capital, and a focus on deploying AI in strategic sectors such as health care, energy, agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing.
“Canada’s new strategy reflects what businesses have been calling for: a comprehensive commitment to AI adoption, infrastructure, and commercialization – and a recognition that data sovereignty is essential to national competitiveness,” said Daniel Tisch, CEO of the Ontario Chamber. “But while the potential of AI is high, business and government leaders must recognize that trust in its implementation is low. Canada can’t succeed in AI unless Canadians are equipped to succeed by using it.”
As implementation begins, the OCC encourages the federal government to maintain a focus on workforce development, responsible governance, and measurable commercialization outcomes to ensure the strategy delivers lasting economic benefits.
“Canada has the talent, the research capacity, and a credible policy framework for AI success,” Tisch added. “Now, businesses need support to adopt it, workers need the skills to adapt to it, and governments need to demonstrate clear accountability for results.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney on June 4 unveiled an AI strategy that promotes a rapid build out of large-scale date centres in Canada, a push that has spurred concerns over environmental impacts, soaring AI costs and the potential for AI automation to eliminate jobs.
AI for All promises a $2 billion investment over five years to support initiatives including free AI literacy training, and to build a “supercomputer as part of significantly enhanced sovereign infrastructure by 2031.”
Carney acknowledged that Canada must “be honest about the risks AI poses to Canadians,” including deepfakes, AI-generated disinformation and privacy concerns.
He also noted Canada “ranks near the bottom of countries in AI training, literacy and trust.”
