Prime Minister Carney Launches New National Council on Artificial Intelligence
October 6, 2026
From the office of the Prime Minister, Mark Carney:
“Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way Canadians live, work, and connect. The speed, scale, and intensity of this transformation present both opportunities and challenges. Canada’s government has a pragmatic, ambitious, and informed plan to ensure all Canadians are empowered to use AI in a safe and sovereign way.
AI for All is the government’s new national strategy to ensure that AI is adopted responsibly, in a way that truly serves all Canadians – building trust, expanding opportunities, and reinforcing our sovereignty. With investments, programs, and new measures underway, the strategy will help position Canada as a global leader in this field.
As AI becomes all-encompassing, spanning sectors, industries, and geography, an increasingly wide range of expertise and experience is required to understand and effectively harness this technology. To that end, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced the launch of a new council on October 2, 2206, to provide independent, practical advice on Canada’s AI transformation.
The Prime Minister’s National Council on Artificial Intelligence will bring together public and private stakeholders and advise on the evolution of the government’s AI for All strategy, including accelerating adoption, fostering national champions, and building sovereign AI infrastructure. Its members will advise on making AI safer, protecting our democracy, and ensuring that all Canadians prosper from AI.
The Council will convene Canada’s leading thinkers, builders, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, public servants, and international experts to advise on current challenges associated with AI, while helping to generate new ideas, partnerships, AI-focused missions, and initiatives. This includes world-leading experts on AI safety, governance, and oversight.
The Prime Minister, Mark Carney, is pleased to announce the following members:
- Ajay Agrawal
- Yoshua Bengio
- Sanja Fidler
- Gillian Hadfield
- Jordan Jacobs
- Eric Lamarre
- Valérie Pisano
- Senator Thomas Pitfield
- Jody Thomas
- Louis Vachon
- Michelle Zatlyn
- Patrick Pichette (ex officio)
Canada’s AI strategy is built around three clear objectives: building trust in AI, expanding opportunity for Canadians, and strengthening Canada’s sovereign control over critical AI capabilities. With the advice of the new National Council on Artificial Intelligence, the government will focus on turning Canadian innovation into stronger companies, better public services, good jobs, and greater economic security.”
Quote
“Prosperity and sovereignty in the age of AI belong to nations that can build, adopt, and govern AI on their own terms. This is Canada’s mission and it will require expertise and leadership from across the field. The new National Council on Artificial Intelligence will inform and advise the government on how to most effectively deploy AI in Canada – how to manage the risks, seize the opportunities, and ensure AI is used to improve the lives of all Canadians.”
The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
Quick facts
- The Prime Minister’s National Council on Artificial Intelligence will provide independent, practical, and timely expert advice on Canada’s AI transformation. It will help connect public and private stakeholders, and identify opportunities for coordinated action in support of AI for All.
- Its work will help support Canada’s prosperity, opportunity, and sovereignty, including economic competitiveness, AI adoption, government transformation, talent, research, and sovereign infrastructure.
- The Council will advise on cross-cutting issues affecting the implementation and evolution of Canada’s AI for All strategy.
- The Council will be supported by a small team within the Privy Council Office, while responsible ministers and departments will remain accountable for policy decisions and implementation.
- In June, Canada launched AI for All, its new national AI strategy. Over the next five years, this strategy will ensure AI is adopted responsibly, in a way that truly serves all Canadians – building trust, expanding opportunities, and reinforcing control of our sovereignty.
- As we deliver this strategy, we must build responsibly and be guided by leaders who understand this technology and can shape it to create benefits for Canadian families, workers, and businesses.
- At its core, AI for All is grounded in the principle that the benefits of AI must be shared widely, ensuring that workers, businesses, and all Canadians can access and benefit from this transformation.
- The AI for All strategy targets an additional $200 billion of economic growth to create 250,000 new AI-related jobs over the next five years and to increase AI adoption from just over 12% to 60% by 2034. The strategy will provide up to 90,000 AI-related jobs and work placement opportunities for young Canadians and make our industries more competitive in the global economy.
- Last month, the Prime Minister launched Digital Transformation Canada, a new federal organisation to modernise government service delivery and use the government’s purchasing power to help Canadian digital and AI companies scale and commercialise new technologies.
- AI is already being used across Canada to improve health care diagnostics and patient care, help farmers increase crop yields and reduce costs through precision agriculture, and strengthen transportation networks through smarter traffic management, logistics, and infrastructure maintenance.
Related Story
Prime Minister Carney Launches AI for All: Canada’s New National Artificial Intelligence Strategy
The world is changing rapidly, with intensifying economic competition, accelerating technological change, and a global race to secure the talent, infrastructure, and innovation that will define the future. Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the centre of that transformation, changing how people live and work, how businesses compete, and how countries protect their sovereignty.
