AI for All: Making Canada’s AI Advantage Work for Everyone

On September 3, the France Canada Chamber of Commerce (ON, MB), alongside AI Labb, Fairfax Digital Services and the Canada AI Alliance, joined Canadian technology leaders, entrepreneurs and enterprise CIOs for “AI for All: Making Canada’s AI Advantage Work for Everyone.”

The event also marked the beginning of a new partnership between FCCCO and the Canada AI Alliance, founded by Kundan Joshi. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to advancing responsible AI adoption, connecting business leaders with Canada’s broader AI ecosystem, and creating new opportunities for knowledge exchange and collaboration.

The discussion brought together the Honourable Evan Solomon, Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, and Sanjay Tugnait, President & CEO of Fairfax Digital Services and Founding President of the FCCCO, to explore how Canada can turn its leadership in AI research into tangible economic and societal impact.

From AI leadership to adoption

In the words of Evan Solomon, Canada’s AI for All strategy is built around three pillars: Trust, Opportunity and Sovereign Control. As highlighted during the discussion, “Technology moves at the speed of innovation; people move at the speed of trust.”

A central challenge is now commercialization. Canada produces world-class AI research and talent, but too often sees its intellectual property scaled elsewhere.

The message to business leaders was clear: adopt Canadian technology, invest and hire locally, and strengthen connections with university talent.

Turning AI into tangible impact

Healthcare was highlighted as a powerful example of AI in action, with applications ranging from AI-assisted emergency-room support to technologies accelerating cancer treatment pathways.

The discussion also emphasized the importance of digital sovereignty: protecting Canadian data and critical technologies while remaining open to international collaboration. As Minister Solomon noted, “Sovereignty is not solitude.”

Canada already has many of the ingredients required to lead in this field: world-class talent, research institutions, clean energy and innovative companies. The next challenge is execution: turning Canada’s AI advantage into adoption, investment and sustainable growth at home.

Through its new partnership with the Canada AI Alliance, FCCCO looks forward to continuing these conversations and developing initiatives that bring together business leaders, innovators and AI experts, while supporting responsible and forward-looking AI adoption across industries.