Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, AI for All, marks a pivotal evolution in the country’s approach to AI, moving beyond research excellence to focus on the priorities that will determine whether Canada can translate AI leadership into broad-based economic and social impact: adoption, productivity growth, commercialization, digital sovereignty, workforce development and education, trust and governance.

Canada’s central AI challenge is now one of implementation, turning world-class research capacity into tangible, measurable benefits for businesses, workers, communities, public institutions, and the broader economy.

This policy brief outlines nine recommendations to build on the strong direction set by AI for All and to help translate its pillars into practical implementation priorities and measurable, collective outcomes.

To read the analysis of ICTC’s President & CEO, Namir Anani, on the AI for All strategy, click here.

Recommendations

  1. Build Canada's strategic AI infrastructure capacity. Attract and coordinate investments in compute, data centres, cloud infrastructure, telecommunications networks, energy systems, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and talent development to ensure Canadian businesses, researchers, governments, and communities have reliable access to the infrastructure needed to develop, adopt, and scale AI technologies, while maintaining meaningful Canadian ownership, governance, and access to critical AI capabilities. 
  2. Advance predictable, risk-based AI governance. Develop a coordinated governance roadmap that includes risk categorization, transparency, regulatory sandboxes, interprovincial harmonization, international interoperability, and appropriate treatment of non-personal data.
  3. Strengthen democratic resilience and public trust. Support transparency, counter-disinformation mechanisms, rapid-response capacity, civic resilience initiatives, and responsible AI standards that protect democratic institutions while enabling innovation.
  4. Launch a national AI talent and adoption implementation plan. Expand AI literacy, sector-specific training, micro-credentials, work-integrated learning, mid-career upskilling, and inclusive pathways for underrepresented groups.
  5. Accelerate SME AI adoption and implementation. Provide adoption diagnostics, practical toolkits, sector-specific roadmaps, employer-led training incentives, trusted advisory services, implementation grants, peer-learning networks, and technical assistance to help firms, particularly those with lower digital maturity, move from experimentation to deployment and measurable productivity gains.
  6. Create a national AI measurement framework. Establish a National AI Productivity Dashboard to track adoption rates, productivity impacts, workforce outcomes, SME readiness, sector-level progress, infrastructure capacity, and inclusion measures.
  7. Use procurement and missions to support commercialization. Leverage public procurement, AI missions, and anchor-customer approaches to help Canadian firms scale, retain IP, and commercialize AI-enabled products and services.
  8. Embed inclusion in implementation. Ensure that AI adoption, skills, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure initiatives address barriers faced by women, Indigenous Peoples, racialized communities, persons with disabilities, newcomers, rural and remote communities, and other equity-deserving groups.
  9. Position Canada as an AI diplomat. Build on Canada’s trusted international role to support responsible AI adoption, governance, capacity-building, open-source AI, and standards cooperation with peer and emerging economies. 

Policy Brief

From AI for All to AI in Action: Implementing Canada’s National AI Strategy for Shared Prosperity 

To cite this policy brief:

Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC). From AI for All to AI in Action: Implementing Canada’s National AI Strategy for Shared Prosperity. June 2026. Ottawa, Canada