{"id":634301,"date":"2026-04-28T14:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/634301\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:35:17","slug":"in-his-first-year-as-ai-minister-what-has-evan-solomon-accomplished-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/634301\/","title":{"rendered":"In his first year as AI minister, what has Evan Solomon accomplished? – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the year since he was named Canada\u2019s first federal minister of artificial intelligence<\/a>, Evan Solomon<\/a> has spoken often about the possibilities of AI and Canada\u2019s potential to become a global leader.<\/p>\n

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Some AI industry and research leaders, however, are wondering when that talk will turn into action.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Global News on Monday, Solomon said work is ongoing to set Canada up for the AI future, but understands why people are looking for answers to the seemingly endless questions that are being raised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there\u2019s a lot of expectation about it, which is good \u2014 we want people to be engaged,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Of particular concern is when the government will release its long-promised and long-delayed \u201crefreshed\u201d national AI strategy, a roadmap expected to lay out Canada\u2019s updated vision for widespread AI adoption across the public and private sectors, establishing digital sovereignty, and addressing growing safety, copyright and privacy issues.<\/p>\n

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A spokesperson for the minister\u2019s office told Global News the strategy \u2014 which Solomon last promised would be released in the first quarter<\/a> of this year \u2014 was coming \u201csoon.\u201d Solomon wouldn\u2019t give a more specific timeline.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll see in the next month \u2026 there\u2019s been a bunch of different strategies released, you will very soon see our AI national strategy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

In interviews with Global News this month, researchers and industry leaders \u2014 some of whom have sat on Ottawa\u2019s AI advisory council \u2014 were mixed on whether the strategy delays were impacting their work. Canada\u2019s main research institutes are recruiting talent and pursuing projects, and grant and investment money is flowing at what those experts say is an accelerated pace.<\/p>\n

But those same people, to varying degrees, also say it\u2019s becoming difficult to set long-term plans of their own without a clear roadmap or sense of where regulation will go. They noted, too, that international allies and competitors alike are keeping a close eye on where Canada aims to go with AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a strong signal from government,\u201d said Julien Billot, CEO of Scale AI, which is focused on accelerating AI adoption through business investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still waiting for the signal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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To hear Solomon explain it, the government is already executing on Canada\u2019s initial AI strategy from 2017, which was primarily focused on recruiting top-tier research talent to help grow the industry and Canadian-built AI systems and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The explosion of generative AI since 2022 forced the government to speed up its timeline on revamping that strategy, which now has to contend with the dizzying advancement of both the technology and its associated risks.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe first strategy was really a vertical strategy,\u201d Solomon said. \u201cWhat happened in the last year is that it has gone also totally horizontal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prime minister rightly sensed that we are in a unique transformative moment where the geopolitical realignment that was accelerating, was happening at the same time as a technological revolution. And so he thought we need someone specifically focused on these two giant dynamics that are changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomon\u2019s office said the minister is regularly engaged with the AI industry and research institutes, and both his ministry and the larger department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada have AI experts on staff. The federal AI task force and the Canadian AI Safety Institute also provide guidance to policymakers.<\/p>\n

In keeping with Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s overall strategy, Solomon has turned to Europe and the Persian Gulf for co-operation and investment. The government has signed AI collaboration agreements with the United Kingdom, European Union, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that Ottawa says will lead to support for Canadian industry, innovation and jobs.<\/p>\n

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Asked for a list of accomplishments from his first year, Solomon\u2019s office pointed to those agreements and highlighted a combined $417 million in investments toward AI adoption for businesses, new research initiatives and building up quantum computing.<\/p>\n

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The most recent federal budget also allocates nearly $1 billion toward the building of AI data centres over several years, including the sovereign AI supercomputer<\/a> Solomon is currently championing. Most of that money is being drawn from past budget allocations for AI infrastructure.<\/p>\n

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Brian McQuinn, an associate professor at the University of Regina and co-director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Data, and Conflict, said that money \u201cis fairly small considering how expensive it is to stand up AI data centres\u201d and speaks to the challenge Canada faces as a middle power in winning the AI race.<\/p>\n

Still, he said Solomon has been \u201ca really good cheerleader\u201d for AI as a public good, and for the importance of ensuring Canada isn\u2019t reliant on countries like the U.S. for supply chains and intellectual property.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s clearly passionate, and clearly he is a champion of the companies and our AI sovereignty,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need that; that is a necessary \u2014 but not sufficient \u2014 condition for us to navigate all of this properly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question becomes \u2026 how can we put up these guardrails (that are necessary)? And it\u2019s not about controlling. It\u2019s about trying to mitigate the negative consequences, foreseen and unforeseen, that are coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tCanadians skeptical about AI\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The strategy also needs to convince a Canadian population that has expressed deep skepticism about AI.<\/p>\n

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A 30-country Ipsos survey on AI attitudes released last June<\/a> found Canada was the least enthusiastic about products and services using AI, with just 31 per cent of Canadians saying they are excited about it. Two-thirds said the idea made them nervous, one of the highest scores among the countries surveyed.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s own report<\/a> from a Solomon-mandated \u201c30-day national sprint\u201d of public consultations last October meant to inform the upcoming strategy found a deep split between regular Canadians\u2019 concerns about AI\u2019s risks and calls for \u201cstrong\u201d regulation, and industry and scientific stakeholders\u2019 optimism for AI\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n

Finding a balance between addressing those two perspectives is a key challenge that Solomon says he has been grappling with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are making sure that we are talking to people in every stakeholder group and citizens before the strategy (is finalized),\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s really important because it\u2019s changing so quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Ipsos report also found Canadians were among the least knowledgeable about AI, with 59 per cent saying they had a \u201cgood understanding\u201d about what artificial intelligence is \u2014 nearly 10 points below the 30-country average.<\/p>\n

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Billot, the Scale AI CEO, noted Solomon faces a difficult task of convincing a skeptical public that AI is as positive as both the government and the industry says it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy to have people being afraid, it\u2019s less easy to regain trust,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to convince them that AI is not going to be \u2018Terminator,\u2019 but it\u2019s more going to be \u2018Iron Man.\u2019 You need to demonstrate how AI is successful and how AI can help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cam Linke, CEO of Alberta\u2019s AI institute Amii, said he believes having a \u201cgo-to person\u201d like an AI minister in government will play a huge role in signalling to both the industry and the public that AI is being considered with the seriousness it deserves.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving that focal point, I think, has been very beneficial in the last year,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think it\u2019s going to continue to have a positive impact going forward as the field continues to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But other experts say Solomon has not yet proven himself to be that go-to figure the public needs to soothe their anxieties.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should be the point person\u201d on all things AI, not just its economic potential, said Wendy Wong, a professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan who studies the intersection of AI and human rights.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s very telling that the (public consultation) report front-loads the economic benefits and how we\u2019re going to buy and build. That\u2019s great \u2026 but then it sort of felt like education and citizen engagement, security, are secondary thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solomon says he has been engaging with nearly every other federal department that has a role to play in shaping the government\u2019s AI approach, from energy to justice to public safety.<\/p>\n

A particularly important partnership is with the ministry of Canadian identity and culture, which is responsible for regulating online platforms and digital safety.<\/p>\n

Last month, Solomon and Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller launched a new joint Advisory Council on AI and Culture to help government and creative industries navigate AI-driven changes. Its members have yet to be announced.<\/p>\n

But the crossover between those two portfolios has meant Solomon \u2014 who now oversees Canada\u2019s privacy law PIPEDA \u2014 will often defer questions about issues like age restrictions for AI chatbots to Miller, who is working on updated online harms legislation that will cover AI platforms.<\/p>\n

Similarly, legislation introduced by Justice Minister Sean Fraser last year that strengthens penalties for gender-based violence and child sexual offences includes criminalizing non-consensual sexualized images such as AI-generated deepfakes.<\/p>\n

Solomon has also said the Competition Bureau, not his office, would handle regulating consumer AI issues like algorithmic pricing, though he has said the broader issue over how personal data is collected and used will be addressed in legislation to modernize PIPEDA \u2014 a bill that will be introduced at an unspecified future date.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI do try to always have an answer\u201d for AI issues that may fall in another federal jurisdiction, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just try not to answer for another minister.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Solomon says he sought to take the lead on high-profile cases, particularly after it was revealed that OpenAI knew about the chatbot activity of the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooter months before the tragedy but did not inform the RCMP.<\/p>\n

The minister summoned executives from OpenAI to Ottawa for a meeting<\/a> with himself and Miller, Fraser and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, and is continuing to follow up with that company and others on strengthening reporting and safety collaboration with Canadian authorities.<\/p>\n

But experts Global News spoke to said it remains unclear exactly how Solomon plans to hold U.S.-based companies like AI to account and ensure they follow through with their commitments.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of the things (I\u2019ve heard Solomon say) is, \u2018Our adoption of AI is going to be principled,’\u201d Wong said. \u201cBased on what? What are these principles? I\u2019d like to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, Solomon made headlines<\/a> by suggesting the federal government doesn\u2019t want to \u201cover-index\u201d on regulating AI.<\/p>\n

Pressed in February on whether that remained Ottawa\u2019s approach, the minister said the goal was to find a balance between \u201ckeeping Canadians safe\u201d and ensuring \u201cthe right type of regulations\u201d that \u201callow for innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has recently begun emphasizing what he calls a guiding principle of \u201cAI for all\u201d \u2014 a phrase Solomon\u2019s office suggested may be the title of the forthcoming national strategy \u2014 which the minister explained at this month\u2019s Liberal party convention means \u201cAI to serve Canadians, not the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt has to reflect our values,\u201d he told the crowd of Liberal supporters. \u201cNo matter who you vote for, how you identify, AI should be a place and a tool that is safe, responsible, accountable, Canadian, and useful. And that is our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valerie Pisano, the CEO of the Quebec AI institute Mila who was sitting beside Solomon during that panel discussion, believes it\u2019s possible to achieve the proper balance between innovation and regulation, calling suggestions one must be sacrificed for the other \u201ca fake polarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she acknowledged that, while it\u2019s \u201cmore important to get it right than to get it fast,\u201d time is starting to run out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe entered into this AI-powered world with already an incredible gap between the trajectory of the technology, its development and deployment, and our ability to respond to it in terms of all of these elements \u2014 whether it\u2019s governance, policy, investment,\u201d she said. \u201cWith every week, that gap gets wider.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the sooner the better, but most importantly, we need to get right.\u201d<\/p>\n

McQuinn, the University of Regina professor, said some sort of action is better than none at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of, \u2018Oh, this technology is moving so fast, the laws can\u2019t keep up\u2019 \u2014 how about we just start, at least?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Solomon told Global News that while his first year as AI minister was focused on establishing the ministry, building partnerships and engaging on the new AI strategy, the coming year will see Canada \u201ctriple down\u201d on establishing its digital sovereignty and international partnerships while \u201cprotecting Canadian citizens\u2019 data and jobs and skills training.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the public is ready to see how Canada is going to keep this country safe, sovereign and secure, and transparent about the plan, and that\u2019s what the year ahead is all about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re super excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the year since he was named Canada\u2019s first federal minister of artificial intelligence, Evan Solomon has spoken…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[62,237254,276,277,49,48,83282,714,64,61],"class_list":["post-634301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-ai-minister","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-evan-solomon","tag-politics","tag-tech","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}