AI on the Horizon: June 22, 2026 Update

Canada’s AI for All Strategy

Canada’s latest AI news on the economy, society, and policy. In this issue of AI on the Horizon, we take a close look at the AI for All strategy.

They’re All In

The AI for All strategy focuses on six key pillars: Trust, Empower Canadians, Shared Prosperity, Sovereign Foundation, Scale Champions, and Global Alliances. The central metrics revolve creating 250,000 new AI-related jobs (of which 90,000 are targeted for young Canadians) and a $200 billion CAD economic boost over the next five years. The price tag attached to all this ambition: at least $2 billion in new federal money and closer to $2.3 billion once you tally the line items. This spending includes a public AI supercomputer and a comparatively modest $50 million for the Canadian AI Safety Institute.

Whether you see them as six pillars or three guiding principles (i.e. trust, opportunity, sovereignty), this strategy is being pitched as more than an economic move. Notably, terms such as security, competition, and talent suggest that the current government views AI as a truly transformative technology capable of addressing multiple Canadian priorities.

Promising or Problematic?

The strategy is not far from past rhetoric, and many commentators remain uncertain and left wanting. There are three core areas of concern: safety, privacy, and trust (though the governing party has recently tabled legislation on digital safety); job loss; and a lack of literacy and training. These concerns have been top of mind for us since the turn of the decade, but with the spotlight being on Canada’s first new AI strategy in nearly 10 years these “novel” systemic issues are emerging front and centre.

So instead of rehashing old debates, we’re going to focus on a more central aspect of the strategy: AI adoption among Canadian SMEs.

AI for the Little Guy

According to Statistics Canada, as of December 2025, among companies with employees (i.e. excluding only owner-operator firms), Canada has over 1.3 million small and medium enterprises accounting for 99% of all Canadian businesses. SMEs also contribute close to half of Canada’s GDP and employment. In 2024, SMEs accounted for almost three quarters of businesses that export goods, and 37.9% of the total export value from Canada. Focusing even further on the “micro” businesses, 75% of all Canadian businesses have between 1 and 9 employees. Considering that 3 of every 4 Canadian businesses are “micro firms,” AI-enabled businesses that automate core tasks and augment worker productivity could be a massive boost to our nation’s bottom line.

The strategy’s own scoreboard agrees it aims to lift business adoption of AI from just over 12% today to 60% by 2034. BDC estimates non-adopters are leaving some $150 billion in GDP on the table, while SMEs already using AI report being 24% more productive than those that aren’t.

Small Business, Big Lift

The LIFT program, launched by BDC back in April this year, aims to equip small and medium enterprises with advisory and consulting support for AI adoption. The $500 million CAD fund is aiming to provide 1,000+ SMEs with AI tools and equipment, with the hope of generating momentum and delivering productivity returns.

More precisely, it’s a loan financing and advisory program of up to $2 million for software-focused AI projects and up to $5 million for physical automation projects. The challenge: eligibility targets firms with at least $1 million in annual sales. Based on 2022 data, this leaves many of the firms still on the sidelines. LIFT isn’t the only lever. The AI for Growth program promises $174 million over three years for SME adoption supports, building on the SME AI Adoption Blueprint Canada shepherded through its G7 presidency.

On the Horizon

 Our April issue “Agentic AI for All” touched on this strategy. Add February’s Defence Industrial Strategy special with its sovereign compute ambitions and BDC’s $4 billion defence platform, and a pattern emerges. The question we posed then applies equally now: do Canadian SMEs get enough support to actually scale?

Our own research reveals both the benefits and the risks: we estimate that automation technologies could lift productivity by up to 13.8% across all sectors over the next 15 years. Yet SME owners consistently tell us that AI feels abstract, its benefits are unclear, and its workforce impact is uncertain. These are precisely the gaps our upcoming research intents to reveal.

Learn more about our current research on AI adoption by Canadian SMEs.