Light, Tight, Right: Canada’s New AI Minister Aims for Balance

October 3, 2025

Canada’s AI regulatory landscape is shifting.

Evan Solomon, Canada’s new, and first, Minister of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Innovation, launched a 26-member task force with the goal of overhauling Canada’s national AI strategy.

The move follows the federal government’s creation of the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation in May 2025 – and the inclusion of AI as a key pillar in Prime Minister Carney’s plan for the economic transformation of Canada. 

The need for trusted oversight has never been greater, and CPAs are in a strong position to lead.

One of the minister’s first tasks is to develop a national framework to regulate one of the most exciting, controversial and disruptive innovations in decades. With Canada’s previous AI bill shelved, Canadians wary of AI, and governments around the world divided on how to approach AI regulation, Solomon has stepped into a complex policy environment.

Canada’s first attempt at AI legislation — the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA), first introduced as part of Bill C-27 in 2022 — stalled in committee after Prime Minister Trudeau’s resignation, and Solomon has confirmed it will not be reintroduced. Instead, Canada will table privacy and data legislation as early as fall 2025, though no timeline has been set for AI-specific legislation.

Solomon is now responsible for shaping Canada’s AI direction. As a former journalist, he has put his communications skills to work by crafting a clear narrative for the government’s AI vision built around four priorities: scale, adoption, trust and sovereignty.

Scale: Backing Canadian champions

For Canada to compete globally, growing AI companies at scale matters. As Minister Solomon stated in July, “Countries that master AI will dominate the future. You're either part of the bulldozer or you're part of the road. We cannot be left behind.”

Solomon plans to build Canada’s bulldozer through targeted supports for companies with the clearest path to scale, rather than “sprinkling” funds across dozens of firms. Expect fewer bets, larger backing, and a focus on building Canadian champions.

Adoption: Accelerating AI use

The Canadian public’s skepticism could prove to be the greatest hurdle Minister Solomon will have to clear if his government’s vision of an AI powerhouse is to become a reality. 

According to research from KPMG, Canada ranks 44th out of 47 countries in AI training and literacy, and just 34 per cent of Canadians say they would trust information from AI, below the global average of 46 per cent.

Research from Abacus Data shows that familiarity with AI plays a big role in trust: 56 per cent of those familiar with AI say they trust it, compared to just 16 per cent of those who are unfamiliar with AI who trust it.

This connection between adoption and trust likely explains why Solomon has made driving AI adoption among businesses and workers one of his priorities, but the first step is closing the trust gap among Canadians, whose feelings on AI are still decidedly mixed. 

Trust: Closing the gap

Solomon has openly acknowledged that Canada has an AI trust deficit. Speaking at a Toronto Tech Week event, he proposed smart regulation as the solution. He is looking to find the “middle path” between strict regulatory systems like the EU AI Act, and the hands-off approach found in the U.S. “Canada can’t regulate alone to stifle innovation, but we can’t have no regulation and have the Wild West.”

In June, Solomon further summed up his vision for regulation in three words: “light, tight, right.”  This catchy turn of phrase suggests that Canada will aim for a pragmatic regulatory approach, addressing key risks like privacy, copyright and data protection, while still leaving room for Canadian firms to innovate. 

Sovereignty: Securing Canada’s AI future

Solomon’s fourth priority is sovereignty: ensuring that Canada has the infrastructure and data capacity to support its own AI ecosystem.

Building sovereign infrastructure, including data centres and compute capacity, would give Canada greater control over where information is stored and how it is governed. Solomon calls it “...the most pressing policy and democratic issue of our time.” Prime Minister Carney has announced that the mandate for the government’s new Major Projects Office will include a project to build a Canadian sovereign cloud to secure data, boost independence, and reinforce Canada’s leadership in AI and quantum.

Quantum computing is also key in conversations of sovereignty. Ottawa is moving quickly to keep quantum companies and their intellectual property in Canada, with Minister Solomon also promising a new quantum strategy for this fall.

The new AI strategy task force

With the establishment of a new AI strategy task force of 26 business and civil society leaders, Minister Solomon has sent a signal that the government does not intend to go it alone. On the contrary, they are looking for the perspectives of industry, innovators, academics and the public as they strike the right balance.

The task force will have 30 days to provide recommendations on issues ranging from AI research and commercialization to adoption, investment, skills development and digital infrastructure. It will also weigh in on safety and trust with the goal of shaping future legislation. Public consultation on AI will run alongside the advisory group, beginning in October 2025.

Accounting for AI: CPAs and AI assurance

What does Canada’s new strategic approach to AI mean for Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs)?

The short answer: both challenges and opportunities.

CPAs are positioned to lead in AI governance. Their expertise in risk management, compliance and governance puts them in a unique position to design and test controls that address the challenges of AI.

CPAs can apply their technical skills and the Code of Professional Conduct to help build corporate governance frameworks that support the responsible adoption of AI. This will be key in addressing the growing practice of “shadow AI.”

“CPAs are often the custodians of financial data and involved in maintaining robust governance and control frameworks,” said Cathy Cobey FCPA, FCA, a pioneer of AI responsibility and EY’s Global Responsible AI Co-lead, in CPA Ontario’s Trust in New Frontiers. 

Whether Minister Solomon can strike the balance between light, tight and right remains to be seen. But no matter which direction Canada takes, CPAs won’t be bystanders; their skills are essential to building the trust that Canada will need to succeed with AI.