This past week, Canada’s AI Strategy Task Force gave Ottawa a set of recommendations to shape our country’s approach to

artificial intelligence . This isn’t just another policy discussion; it’s about Canada’s economic future, and the stakes could not be higher.

AI is poised to create the most significant competitive divide of the past two centuries. More than industrialization, automation, or robotics. The coming quantum leap in

productivity will be so significant that the world will quickly divide between those who adopt AI and those who don’t. There will be no middle ground.

To put it bluntly: We will either build an owner’s and adopter’s economy or be relegated to a subcontracting branch of the global AI ecosystem.

The case for speed

The evidence for moving quickly is overwhelming. A study for Forum IA Québec found that if the province significantly increased AI adoption, its

GDP could grow by as much as 14 per cent by 2035. An Accenture report forecasted that by 2030, generative AI could deliver $180 billion in annual productivity benefits to Canada.

Yet today, fewer than 1 in 10 Canadian companies classify their AI adoption as advanced.

This is more than just about automation and efficiency, doing more. It’s about proficiency: every person doing more on their own, augmented with greater capability. That’s why Canadian companies need to move beyond pilot and science projects and focus on driving real business outcomes. Our standard of living depends on it.

The need to industrialize AI at scale across Canada

Canada’s contribution to the science of AI is undeniable. Our country pioneered foundational AI research and today 10 per cent of the world’s top-tier AI researchers are here in Canada, the second-highest concentration of any country. Yet, we have failed to monetize these contributions.

For Canada to reap the benefits of a technology it helped create, we must focus on applied AI, the most effective way of ushering in the industrialization of AI.

This approach rests on the development of a sovereign domestic infrastructure that is not isolationist. A national AI grid that is accessible to all and designed to be actionable, scalable, fast, and repeatable. In short, a utility that every business, every SMB, every research institution, every hospital and every government department can plug into and use.

Think of it as the vast railroad network Canada built more than 150 years ago. At the time, we did not imagine the prosperity that would unleash. But we knew that Canada would not be the nation it is today if the railroad was built by foreign interests. We understood that authority over innovative infrastructure was control over our economic destiny.

Today, with artificial intelligence, Canada stands at a similar pivotal moment in its history. The infrastructure we control — or fail to control — will determine Canada’s economic future.

Adoption, talent, procurement

But infrastructure alone won’t drive transformation. As a country, we also need to spark adoption across the economy; double-down the top talent that will help Canadian companies implement AI to create competitiveness and value for Canadians.

Canada’s strong talent pool is indisputable. Yet, as the race for AI intensifies, we need to do a much better job at creating, attracting and retaining talent. Why? Because the single biggest barrier to AI adoption is the lack of tech and applied AI talent inside our businesses and institutions. AI transformation requires people who understand the technology from within.

For too long, we’ve allowed our top minds to be recruited by foreign multinationals, even when they worked on our soil. It is urgent that we create powerful incentives for our best talent to work for Canadian companies and build their careers here at home.

Moreover, if Ottawa is serious about positioning Canada at the forefront of the AI revolution, government will need to adopt bold and pragmatic policies to match its ambitions. Government cannot simply champion AI — it must lead with concrete actions. Our federal government spends billions each year on IT, yet anyone who has spent hours on the phone with a government agency knows that significant improvement is necessary.

By prioritizing the procurement of AI technology from homegrown firms, for example, the government could simultaneously modernize its own operations and scale up our domestic AI industry. Applying national security and national interest exemptions to prioritize Canadian AI firms, a practice already used in other strategic sectors, would be a powerful first step.

This would create a virtuous cycle: Ottawa improves service delivery, our AI companies gain anchor customers, and we build an ecosystem that keeps intellectual property, talent and profits in Canada, and then we can export the model.

The time is now

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon has laid out the ambitions of this government when it comes to AI. He has articulated this vision in line with the tremendous opportunity that AI adoption presents for Canada and Canadians.

By focusing on the industrialization of AI, investing in commercial adoption, creating strong incentives to secure top talent and implementing a “

Buy Canadian ” strategy, I’m convinced we can translate that vision into a prosperous economic future.

One of my engineering professors once told me, “Move beyond tech fascination. Deliver effective solutions!” Canada needs it, fast.

  • Louis Têtu: How Canada needs to respond to the growing demand for artificial intelligence
  • AI or die: Canada’s existential moment in the age of augmented intelligence

Louis Têtu is executive chair of Coveo Solutions Inc. and a member of Canada’s AI Strategy Task Force