Trudeau announces $2.4B for AI push
MONTREAL • The Liberal government is setting aside $2.4 billion in the upcoming budget to build capacity in artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday.
The bulk of that — $2 billion — is going into a fund that will aim to provide access to computing capabilities and technical infrastructure.
Trudeau made the announcement in Montreal as part of a pre-budget tour.
He said the government will begin consulting with industry soon on a new AI Compute Access Fund and an accompanying strategy to grow the sector in Canada.
“We want to help companies adopt AI in a way that will have positive impacts for everyone,” Trudeau said, adding that $200 million will go toward boosting the adoption of AI in sectors like agriculture, health care and clean technology.
The government plans to launch a $50-million AI safety institute to protect against what it calls “advanced or nefarious AI systems,” and another $5.1 million will go toward an office of the AI and Data Commissioner to enforce the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.
Bill C-27 is the first federal legislation specifically aimed at artificial intelligence. It would update privacy laws and introduce new obligations for “high-impact” systems.
The proposed law has been studied at committee since September 2023.
Industry Minister François-philippe Champagne said Canada is a world leader in AI.
“Let’s stop asking what AI will do to us, and why don’t we start asking what we want AI to do for us,” he said.
The Liberals have been setting up their April 16 budget with a series of campaign-style stops around the country. Last week’s announcements were focused on housing, including money to help build apartments and affordable units.
The federal Conservatives, meanwhile, have sent a letter to Trudeau outlining their demands for the fiscal plan.
Leader Pierre Poilievre’s letter to Trudeau says the Prime Minister’s “out-of-control inflationary spending” has caused interest rates to balloon and “punishing taxes have pushed people over the edge.”
He called on the government to end the price on carbon, to require cities to permit 15 per cent more home building each year as a condition for receiving federal infrastructure money, and to cap its spending, committing to find equivalent savings.