Canada's AI for All strategy and what it means for startups

On June 4, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney launched AI for All, Canada's national artificial intelligence strategy, at Toronto General Hospital. Evan Solomon is Canada's Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. The strategy sets three principles: trust, opportunity and sovereignty. Several measures are directly relevant to startups.

AI for All targets

The Prime Minister said the strategy targets an additional $200 billion in economic growth. He said it could create 250,000 AI-related jobs over five years. It aims to lift business AI adoption from one in 10 today to nearly two-thirds by 2034. In the same speech, he said only 12% of Canadian businesses use AI today.

Measures for adoption

• BDC LIFT program. The government will use it to help SMEs finance AI tools in their operations.
• Regional AI Initiative. $500 million to expand AI adoption, commercialization and readiness across the country.
• Compute Access fund. An additional $700 million for affordable sovereign compute for SMEs.
• National AI Literacy Initiative. Free training and learning kits for Canadians.
• Youth placements. Over 90,000 AI-related job opportunities for young Canadians, including through Mitacs and the Student Work Placement Program.

Measures for building Canadian AI companies

• Canadian Tech Growth Fund. A $500 million vehicle to take equity stakes in high-potential AI firms.
• Public AI supercomputer. A world-leading public machine for researchers and businesses.
• National AI institutes. Nearly $350 million to expand Mila, Amii and the Vector Institute.
• Build-Partner-Buy procurement. Sovereign capability procurement will go to Canadian firms first, then allied partners, then foreign suppliers.

AI Missions Program and health care

The strategy creates an AI Missions Program to move AI into practical use. The first mission deploys $200 million in health care. Projects could include shorter emergency wait times, wider access to primary care and less administrative work for physicians. The Prime Minister said similar missions will follow for energy, agriculture and transportation.

Trust and regulation

The government committed to modernize privacy and online safety laws, expand the Canadian AI Safety Institute and table consumer privacy legislation to protect children's data. Startups that handle personal data should expect new obligations and plan for compliance.

Language, Indigenous and allied partnerships

The strategy commits to strengthening French in AI systems and to supporting Indigenous-led AI initiatives. On partnerships, the Prime Minister said Canada has secured 20 economic and security partners in a year, 12 of them in AI. He named the Sovereign Technology Alliance, starting with Germany, as a landmark initiative. He also said Canada is one of only four countries with a large language model.

Canada's existing AI base

The Prime Minister cited more than 3,500 AI companies in Canada and 150,000 jobs directly in AI. He noted that Canada is highly dependent on foreign suppliers for compute, cloud and data storage. The sovereignty measures respond to that dependency.

Founder takeaways

• Watch for program details. The speech set direction and amounts. Eligibility rules for each fund will follow separately.
• Sell to Canadian SMEs. Adoption financing through BDC gives small businesses budget to buy AI tools.
• Position for public procurement. Build-Partner-Buy favours Canadian vendors for sovereign capabilities.
• Look at health care. The first mission has a defined budget and problem set.
• Plan for privacy rules. Design data handling now for tighter requirements later.

Sources

1. Prime Minister Carney launches AI for All: Canada's new national artificial intelligence strategy
   Prime Minister of Canada · Jun 4, 2026
2. Minister Solomon highlights Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy
   Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada · Jun 5, 2026