The Canada AI Strategy Task Force was officially launched in September 2025 by Minister Evan Solomon, marking a renewed effort to update and advance the country’s National AI Strategy. This initiative comes at a critical juncture as technological transformation and geopolitical forces reshape national priorities.
Government of Canada launches AI Strategy Task Force and public engagement on the development of the next AI strategy
From: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Key facts about the AI Strategy Task Force Source perplexity.ai
- Purpose: The Task Force will conduct a 30-day “national sprint” from October 1 to October 31, 2025. Its primary goal is to gather actionable, bold ideas to inform Canada’s future in artificial intelligence, focusing especially on digital sovereignty and the development of sovereign cloud and compute capacity.canada+3
- Public Engagement: Starting October 1, a public website will open for Canadians to contribute feedback, ensuring broad inclusion in the strategy formation process.linkedin+1
- Members: The Task Force consists of 26 prominent leaders from academia, industry, and civil society, including high-profile figures such as Dr. Mary Wells (Dean of Waterloo Engineering), Patrick Pichette (Inovia Capital), Joelle Pineau (Cohere), Dan Debow (Build Canada), Ben Bergen (Council of Canadian Innovators), Ian Rae (CloudOps), Sam Ramadori (LawZero), and Michael Serbinis (League).uwaterloo+1
- Focus Areas: The Task Force will consult on eight major themes:
- Research and talent
- Adoption across industry and government
- Commercialization
- Scaling Canadian AI champions and stimulating investment
- Safe AI systems and public trust
- Education and skills
- Infrastructure (cloud, compute, data)
- Security of Canadian infrastructure and capacitydigitaljournal+4
- Outputs: Task Force findings and recommendations will be reported in November 2025, shaping policy, investments, and regulations to accelerate AI commercialization and responsible deployment.miragenews+3
- Digital Sovereignty: Central to the strategy is ensuring Canada builds its own core digital infrastructure, protecting data, supporting domestic innovators, and projecting Canadian values.linkedin+1
In summary: The Task Force represents Canada’s commitment to leading in responsible and ambitious AI deployment, with emphasis on broad consultation, digital sovereignty, and practical, expert-driven recommendations to secure long-term innovation and competitiveness.finance.yahoo+4
| Name | Organization/Title | Focus/Thematic Area |
|---|---|---|
| Gail Murphy | Prof. Comp. Science & VP Research, UBC; Vice-Chair, Digital Research Alliance | Research & Talent |
| Diane Gutiw | VP Global AI Research Lead, CGI Canada; Co-Chair, Advisory Council on AI | Research & Talent |
| Michael Bowling | Prof. Comp. Science, Univ. Alberta; Research Fellow, AMII; CIFAR AI Chair | Research & Talent |
| Arvind Gupta | Professor, Computer Science, Univ. Toronto | Research & Talent |
| Olivier Blais | Co-Founder & VP AI, Moov.AI; Co-Chair, Advisory Council on AI | Adoption across industry/govt |
| Cari Covent | Technology Executive | Adoption across industry/govt |
| Dan Debow | Chair, Build Canada | Adoption across industry/govt |
| Louis Têtu | Executive Chairman, Coveo | Commercialization of AI |
| Michael Serbinis | Founder/CEO, League; Board Chair, Perimeter Institute | Commercialization of AI |
| Adam Keating | Founder/CEO, CoLab | Commercialization of AI |
| Patrick Pichette | General Partner, Inovia Capital | Scaling Champions/Investment |
| Ajay Agrawal | Prof. Strategic Management, Univ. Toronto; Founder, Next Canada & CDL | Scaling Champions/Investment |
| Sonia Sennik | CEO, Creative Destruction Lab | Scaling Champions/Investment |
| Ben Bergen | President, Council of Canadian Innovators | Scaling Champions/Investment |
| Mary Wells | Dean of Engineering, Univ. Waterloo | Safe AI systems/Public Trust |
| Joelle Pineau | Chief AI Officer, Cohere | Safe AI systems/Public Trust |
| Taylor Owen | Founding Director, Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy | Safe AI systems/Public Trust |
| Natiea Vinson | CEO, First Nations Technology Council | Education & Skills |
| Alex Laplante | VP Cash Management Tech, RBC; Board Member, Mitacs | Education & Skills |
| David Naylor | Prof. of Medicine; President Emeritus | Education & Skills |
| Garth Gibson | Chief Tech & AI Officer, VDURA | Infrastructure (Cloud/Compute/Data) |
| Ian Rae | President/CEO, Aptum | Infrastructure (Cloud/Compute/Data) |
| Marc Etienne Ouimette | Chair, Digital Moment; OECD AI Expert | Infrastructure (Cloud/Compute/Data) |
| Shelly Bruce | Distinguished Fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation | Security |
| James Neufeld | Founder/CEO, samdesk | Security |
| Sam Ramadori | Co-President & Executive Director, LawZero | Security |
Sources:
- https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2025/09/government-of-canada-launches-ai-strategy-task-force-and-public-engagement-on-the-development-of-the-next-ai-strategy.html
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/evan-solomon-31906a8b_today-i-launched-canadas-ai-strategy-task-activity-7377537297602478080-Gj4P
- https://www.miragenews.com/canada-unveils-ai-strategy-task-force-public-1541975/
- https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/government-canada-launches-ai-strategy-233700175.html
- https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering/news/dean-mary-wells-named-high-profile-task-force-ai
- https://betakit.com/minister-evan-solomon-reveals-canadas-ai-task-force/
- https://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-science/canada-launches-ai-task-force-with-30-day-sprint-for-national-strategy/article
- https://globalnews.ca/news/11448831/ottawa-refreshed-ai-strategy-minister/
- https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7377537297602478080/
- https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2025/09/ministers-joly-and-solomon-meet-the-future-of-ai-at-all-in-2025.html
- https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/canada-first-sovereign-ai-factory-152210373.html
- https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2025/sct-tbs/BT48-55-2025-eng.pdf
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/government-canada-launches-ai-strategy-233700511.html
- https://decoder.ca/ottawa-names-26-member-task-force-to-renew-ai-strategy/
- https://www.bctechnology.com/news/2025/9/26/Ottawa-Launches-AI-Task-Force-Moves-Up-Deadline-to-Deliver-Updated-National-Strategy.cfm?j=0
Bankwatch 