The Pan-Canadian AI Strategy

Featured AI News

Canada is a global AI leader
The Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy strengthens Canada's leadership in AI.
Launched in 2017, Canada's national AI Strategy was the first in the world.
Our three National AI Institutes – Amii in Edmonton, Mila in Montreal, and the Vector Institute in Toronto – are the vibrant central hubs of Canada's thriving AI ecosystem. We bring together national and international collaborations in the rapidly developing field of AI.
Do you have questions about the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy?
Contact us at ai@cifar.ca.
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Key Strategic Priorities
Our vision is that by 2030, Canada will have one of the most robust national AI ecosystems in the world, founded upon scientific excellence, high-quality training and deep talent pools, public-private collaboration and our strong values of advancing AI technologies to bring positive social, economic and environmental benefits for people and the planet.
Understanding the Societal Implications of AI
Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in AI

Canada CIFAR AI Chairs

More than one hundred Canada CIFAR AI Chairs advance research in a range of fields: from drug discovery and machine learning for health; to autonomous vehicles; materials discovery; human-AI interaction; natural language processing; and more.
The chairs are based at Canada's three AI Institutes: Amii in Edmonton, Mila in Montreal, and Vector Institute in Toronto.
The Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy recruits the world's leading AI researchers to Canada, while retaining our existing top talent. We provide long-term, dedicated research funding to support these cutting-edge research programs and help them train the next generation of AI leaders. Advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in Canada's AI ecosystem is a top priority.
Pictured above, from left to right, top to bottom:
- Audrey Durand
- Animesh Garg
- Yuhong Guo
- Sanja Fidler
- Courtney Paquette
- Jimmy Ba
- Marlos C. Machado
- Jian Tang
- Neil Burch

Facts and Figures:
Canada’s AI Landscape
The success of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy to date demonstrates that investment in fundamental science and talent development is foundational for innovation and for economic growth.
Canada’s Position in AI
0th
Canada’s global AI Vibrancy ranking for investment, innovation and implementation.1
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Ranking on Stanford’s Global AI Vibrancy Tool (ahead of all G7 nations except US & UK)2, measuring R&D and economic impact.
Tech Jobs and Talent
0nd
Canada’s global ranking in AI hiring according to Stanford’s Global AI Vibrancy Tool.2
0 & 2
Ranking of Vancouver (44%) & Toronto (37%) as top North American markets for high-tech job growth.3
1, 2, 0
Ranking of Waterloo, Ottawa & Calgary (in order) as top North American tech markets to watch.3
0
Canada’s global rank for largest pool of top-tier AI researchers in the world.4
0%
Proportion of the world’s most elite (top 0.5%) researchers living in Canada, second only to the US.4
Startups
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Number of startup companies in Canada5 (more than doubled since 2018).
$0B
Venture capital funding generated by Canadian AI startups in 2021.6
0rd
Canada’s rank for # of companies among the 2022 CBInsights7 “Top 100 Most Promising AI Startups” globally (exceeded only by the US & UK).
0
# of Canadian “unicorn” companies that reach a $1B valuation before listing (since 2010), with 19 currently operating; all deploy AI.8
Industry investments
0
Formal, distinct company partnerships between CIFAR, Amii, Mila and the Vector Institute 2021-22.
0
# of AI & tech-related announcements about foreign investments in Canada (2017–2022).
Patents
0
Patents awarded to Canada CIFAR AI Chairs (US Patent Office).
0
Patent applications in machine learning by Canadian inventors in 2022.9
0
Machine learning patents awarded by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office in 2022.10
0X
Growth in Canadian AI patent applications since 20172 (compared to <8X growth in US).
- https://www.tortoisemedia.com/intelligence/global-ai/
- https://aiindex.stanford.edu/vibrancy/
- https://www.cbre.com/insights/reports/tech-30-2022#download-report
- https://macropolo.org/digital-projects/the-global-ai-talent-tracker/
- https://www.crunchbase.com/hub/canada-artificial-intelligence-companies
- CrunchBase. (2022, July). Canadian AI Startups & Funding Round Extract.
- https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/artificial-intelligence-top-startups-2022/
- https://tracxn.com/d/unicorn-corner/canada
- https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/advancedSearch.jsf; query: IADC:CA AND DP:(2022) AND EN_ALLTXT:"machine learning"
- https://www.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/search/advanced.html; query: ("machine learning") AND (current-status:Patents) AND (issue-date:[2022-01-01 TO 2022-12-31])
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CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.