In this digital age, it is to be expected that every nation will take advantage of every tech innovation not only to improve the quality of life for its citizens but also to enhance economic growth. Accordingly, the western countries often are noted to lead the charge in adopting cutting-edge technologies, cultivating competitive edge in sectors like healthcare, gaming, automation, and artificial intelligence.
Among these developed countries is Canada that has long been recognized as a leader in digital innovation as evidenced with its thriving tech industry. From Toronto to Vancouver, Canadian innovators are driving advancements from digital entertainment to artificial intelligence.
Below, let us explore the transformative nature of artificial intelligence and the resulting appointment of Canada’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation.
The Current Canadian Digital Landscape
Canada has always been recognized to be standing at the forefront of digital innovation. Accordingly, this is due to the government’s Digital Ambition agenda that sets long-term objectives putting policy, people, and technology first to better meet the needs of every Canadian.
This agenda has then emboldened the country’s innovators to make use of modern technology for the betterment of the country. This led to Canada’s tech boom as the country continued to attract talent and investment, resulting in numerous start-ups emerging, driving economic growth and further positioning the country as a leader in the technological field.
The tech boom is even more evident as more Canadians prefer mobile connection and further rely on smartphones for everyday tasks. Per statistics, it was shown that there were 41.6 million cellular mobile users at the beginning of 2025. Consequently, eSIMs became more popular as Canadians try to achieve work-life balance by using one network for personal use and the other for work. Aside from the rise of eSIMs, Canada has also recorded an increase of internet users of about 718,000 between January 2024 and January 2025.
Other than that, there is also an increase of research institutions dedicated to advanced technology as well as AI and machine learning research.
Canada Appointing a Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation
Despite having a lot of advantages of being a tech-forward country, there are also drawbacks to overcome in terms of cybersecurity and digital privacy. One of the pressing issues concerning cybersecurity and privacy is the rise of the use of deepfake technology.
Accordingly, the threat of deepfake technology has also been acknowledged by the Canadian government. This technology and its ability to create media manipulations where images, voices, videos, or texts are digitally altered by advanced artificial intelligence (AI) has been rising to be a threat to the country especially when used for disinformation.
One great example of disinformation cases are the cryptocurrency scams that circulated during its last election. Another example would be the series of AI-generated images claiming the detainment and assassination of Mark Carney, the current Prime Minister of Canada.
Knowing these problems, the Canadian government has made a bold move and appointed Toronto Centre Member of Parliament Evan Solomon as the Canadian Minister of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Innovation. This move was considered as Canada’s further action to embrace the digital future and the government’s commitment to positioning Canada as a global leader in digital innovation and artificial intelligence.
With this controversial position, many are wondering what would be the official’s duties and responsibilities?
In some initial interviews and news columns, Solomon’s role encompasses a wide array of responsibilities related to digital innovation including overseeing AI policy development and harnessing the technology’s economic benefits. In his first speech since becoming Canada’s first AI minister, Solomon states to initially move away from over-indexing on warning and regulation on AI and instead, to make sure the country’s economy benefits from AI. Aside from harnessing the economic benefits, his regulatory focus will be on data protection and privacy, to simply make sure the ‘horse doesn’t kick people in the face’.
While the international scene has mixed feelings about the position, domestically it has been warmly welcomed. Domestic experts lauded his appointment especially by the President of the Council of Canadian Innovators who remarked that it was a good move but still demanded more from the newly created office as to how it will affect the private sector. In response, talks about incentivizing businesses that adopt AI practices have gained momentum, with proposals for grants and tax incentives on the table.
Final Thoughts
Canada has always been known to be a leader in digital innovation and transformation.
Accordingly, the appointment of Honorable Evan Solomon as its Minister of Artificial Intelligence is the evidence and definitely a significant step especially in this digital age. As the world continues to evolve and increasingly leaning towards digitization, Canada is well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities presented by AI. With its strong foundation of research and development on the topic and with a figurehead that can steer it into the right direction, there is no doubt the country can create a robust ecosystem as long as it properly harnesses the advantages of AI and the digital innovation that comes with it.
