OP-ED: Canada is falling behind in the AI race and the cost could be devastating
Dr. Dotan Rousso writes, "As the world accelerates toward an AI-powered future, Canada risks being left in the digital dust."
By Dr. Dotan Rousso
As the world accelerates toward an AI-powered future, Canada risks being left in the digital dust. Once viewed as a pioneer in artificial intelligence—home to researchers like Yoshua Bengio and early investments in academic AI hubs—Canada now lags behind many of its Western peers in both public and private sector commitment to AI development. The country’s initial promise in this transformative field is in danger of being squandered.
In comparison to countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, Canada's AI investments are modest and outdated. In 2023, the U.S. government committed over $30 billion toward AI research, infrastructure, and development, including funding for the National AI Research Resource and AI-focused national labs. Similarly, the European Union has adopted a coordinated and well-funded approach. In April 2024, the EU launched a €20 billion initiative to build “AI Gigafactories” across the continent, aiming to develop sovereign AI capabilities and reduce reliance on American and Chinese systems. Even smaller countries are moving decisively—Estonia, for example, implemented a national AI strategy as early as 2019, integrating AI into public administration and education, and has continuously updated it through 2024. By contrast, Canada’s 2024 federal budget offered little more than rhetorical support for digital innovation. Although it referenced the importance of AI and announced funding to expand domestic compute capacity, the details remain vague and the scale pales in comparison to our global peers.
The picture in the private sector is no more encouraging. In the U.S., major technology firms like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI dominate AI development, supported by deep pockets and robust venture capital ecosystems. In 2023 alone, U.S. private investment in generative AI exceeded $18 billion, according to Stanford’s AI Index. Canadian tech start-ups, by comparison, face limited access to capital, scale more slowly, and are often acquired or relocated to jurisdictions with stronger support systems. This creates a steady outflow of talent, intellectual property, and potential economic leadership. Many of our brightest minds, trained in Canada’s leading institutions, are leaving to work where opportunities are greater and ambitions are met with resources.
While we falter, the world is reorganizing itself around AI as a national and strategic priority. From agriculture and energy to education, defence, and public health, AI is rapidly becoming foundational. Nations are not only racing to develop smarter algorithms—they are racing to set the rules, control the data, and shape the global norms that will define the future. Yet Canada appears directionless. Our 2017 Pan-Canadian AI Strategy was an admirable first step, but it has not been substantially updated or expanded to meet the scale of today's global competition. We have no centralized authority overseeing AI development, no comprehensive national strategy that reflects current realities, and no coherent roadmap to ensure we remain competitive.
The price of falling behind is not abstract—it will hit our economy, society, and national security in tangible ways. Countries leading in AI are already automating industries, optimizing public services, and generating immense economic value. Canada risks becoming merely a consumer of foreign AI technologies—outsourcing innovation, losing high-value jobs, and weakening our global influence.
The brain drain is already underway. Researchers trained in Canadian universities are being recruited into better-funded labs and ecosystems abroad. According to a 2023 report by the Brookfield Institute, over 60% of top Canadian AI PhDs now work outside Canada. If we do not offer them the means to innovate and lead here, we will continue to export talent while importing the technologies they help build elsewhere.
There are also serious national security implications. As AI becomes central to defence, cybersecurity, and intelligence, nations lacking sovereign capabilities risk exposure and dependence.
This should be a wake-up call for Canada’s new government. Artificial Intelligence is not a niche sector—it is the defining technology of our time. Our prosperity, sovereignty, and values depend on how we engage with it today. Canada must urgently adopt a renewed national AI strategy—one that reflects the scale and urgency of this moment. We need meaningful public investment in AI research, infrastructure, and domestic compute capacity. A federal body should be established to coordinate efforts across provinces, industries, and academic institutions. We must create conditions for Canadian start-ups to scale at home and form strong public-private partnerships that retain intellectual capital. And we must integrate AI education across all levels, from high school curriculums to graduate-level specialization.
If Canada fails to act decisively now, we risk becoming spectators in a future that others are busy inventing—on terms that may not reflect our values, interests, or ambitions.