Canada's AI Safety Plan: Diplomacy Abroad, Rules at Home
Canada is pressing for safer artificial intelligence alongside its allies, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon says. The Globe and Mail
Solomon spoke on Sept. 23. He said he had met with counterparts from other countries after Prime Minister Mark Carney raised with fellow leaders the idea of a "technology stability" board, a proposed international body to set rules for AI.
When asked if Canada is leading on AI safety, Solomon pointed to work at home, including proposed regulations for AI chatbots, the conversational tools many Canadians now use for customer service, homework and health information.
He said Canada is playing a "very leading" role through a $150 million investment in safer-AI work led by Montreal researcher Yoshua Bengio.
That is two efforts at once. One is international. The other is domestic.
Internationally, Canada restated its commitment to secure and responsible AI at the G7 Digital Ministers' Meeting. Government of Canada Ottawa also joined with the United Kingdom to fund alignment research, which aims to keep AI systems acting in line with human direction, and issued a joint statement with Germany's Minister Wildberger to launch the Canada-Germany Digital Alliance. In September 2026, Canada and Germany invested in LawZero to build a new approach to safe sovereign AI, meaning AI systems under Canadian and German control. Government of Canada
At home, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, called AI for All, says Ottawa will back research into Canadian foundation models, the large base systems other AI tools are built on, with safety built in from the start. The 2026-27 departmental plan for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada includes building capacity for AI safety. Solomon was also due to announce plans for responsible data centre development, covering the large facilities that house the computers running AI.
On enforcement, Solomon called senior safety officials from OpenAI to Ottawa for a meeting in February. Reuters Canadian officials asked for an explanation of the company's safety protocols and escalation procedures, the step-by-step rules for flagging and responding to serious risks. Reuters
Solomon also planned to visit the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to meet counterparts and seek investment in Canada's AI sector.
The broader context here is jurisdiction and process. The practical questions in Ottawa are which law would carry the chatbot rules, which authority would set safety requirements for foundation models and data centres, and how a proposed technology stability board would fit with existing G7 work and bilateral deals. Those answers will decide whether international promises become enforceable rules in Canada.
Looking at what this means for federalism, Ottawa prefers to act through both bilateral deals and multilateral forums. That lets the federal government use its powers over foreign affairs, trade and criminal law, while universities, health systems and private labs, largely under provincial jurisdiction, handle much of the research and day-to-day use. Quebec, Ontario and the western provinces each have their own research hubs. They will watch language about sovereign AI closely for signals on funding, data governance and who controls the models.
In my view, the short-term test is regulatory design, not statements. Alignment research, support for foundation models and data centre policy all point to standards companies would have to meet. Industry will want clarity on scope, timelines and oversight. Members of Parliament will want to know how chatbot rules fit with privacy law and online harms proposals. Until those details are tabled, the claim to leadership rests on investment and diplomacy rather than on law and regulation.
