Innovation put Canada ahead in AI; adoption will decide who benefits
When entrepreneurs have the tools and training to adopt AI in a way that is values-aligned, more businesses can grow, hire, and innovate. Equity and productivity move together.
The Hill Times
Published August 28, 2025
Canada has no shortage of ambition when it comes to innovation in artificial Intelligence, but ambition alone doesn’t deliver outcomes.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has positioned artificial Intelligence (AI) as a pillar of his policy agenda, creating Canada's first AI department dedicated to unlocking the technology's economic potential. The federal government is signalling big intentions to boost AI adoption, grow productivity, and create new jobs in sectors like energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and manufacturing.
Despite this early progress, there's a growing disconnect between the national vision and the real challenges that businesses across this country face in integrating AI.
While AI adoption in Canada has doubled since mid-2024, John Turley-Ewart pointed out that nearly 88 per cent of our businesses still aren’t using AI at all. According to StatsCan’s June 2025 briefing, 58 per cent of companies don’t see AI as important or relevant to their work.
That’s not just a technology gap; it’s a mindset gap. And it’s going to cost us economically and socially if we don’t act.
The narrative that our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are risk-averse is tired. AI adoption isn’t lagging due to a lack of curiosity or ambition. It's due to a lack of support, resourcing, and accessible expert instruction. SMEs need guidance on where to begin with AI adoption and advice on what the risks are.
Canada is starting near the bottom. Among OECD nations, we rank among the lowest in public trust and training in artificial intelligence. Productivity is stalling. Labour output has dropped to the second-lowest in the G7. If we don’t turn this around, we could miss the economic window of this technological shift, and the people who most need the opportunity will continue to be left behind.
AI will reshape the economy. Change brings risk, but entrepreneurs and business leaders know risk well. With the right support, they can drive progress and guide their teams through disruption with clarity, competence, and trust. This country's leaders are ready for this transition. What can we do to help them succeed?
We don’t need another high-level strategy. We need investment in entrepreneurs, builders, and business leaders—especially the SMEs that make up 98 per cent of employer businesses in Canada.
They need timely, practical education to use AI in ways that move their businesses forward, with programs tailored to the realities of running a business. That means meeting them where they are and addressing valid concerns about environmental impact and copyright. Carney’s mandate letter, issued on May 21, put it plainly: AI can create meaningful careers for millions of Canadians, “provided they have timely access to the education and training they need to develop the necessary skills.”
That’s the right framing. Now we need to deliver.
Luckily, we already know what works. As co-leads of the AI Skills Lab Canada pilot, with co-investment by DIGITAL, Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, we launched the country’s first program to help women and non-binary entrepreneurs adopt AI.
Women represent only 19 per cent of Canada’s entrepreneurs. Without swift, ethical adoption, today’s gender gaps could be built into tomorrow’s technologies.
Since April, the AI Skills Lab Canada pilot has trained 103 women and non-binary entrepreneurs and business leaders using a wayfinding approach with expert-led instruction, small peer-learning cohorts, practical AI integration roadmaps, and support from AI coaches.
And it’s working.
Participants’ ability to set up AI systems and processes grew by 90 per cent, and confidence in selecting AI tools increased by 89 per cent. Their understanding of ethical and regulatory considerations rose by 119 per cent. When training is timely, practical, and supported by a trusted peer network, people apply it.
That’s not just a win for inclusion. It’s a win for the economy. When entrepreneurs have the tools and training to adopt AI in a way that is values-aligned, more businesses can grow, hire, and innovate. Equity and productivity move together.
Canada needs to set a national measurable target for SME engagement in AI. That number must be backed by a network of agile, locally-grounded upskilling programs.
All Canadians need access to AI training, but business owners need more than just a course. They need support systems that work in practice. That’s what turns training into lasting organizational change. This isn’t the time for passive optimism. AI alone won’t solve our productivity problem but people will, if we give them the resources they need.
We already know what works. The next step is to scale it with intention and build what comes next. This is a window of opportunity—and if we don’t move now, we risk watching it close.
Now is the moment for Canada to be as ambitious about equitable AI adoption as we are about AI innovation. Let's not waste it.
Sarah Stockdale is the founder of Growclass, a growth marketing certification and AI training platform for founders and marketers. Avery Swartz is the founder and CEO of Camp Tech, a provider of practical tech and AI skills training. Kirsten Koppang Telford is the CEO of The Forum, a national charity that helps women entrepreneurs start and scale their businesses, through education, mentorship and access to capital.