Canada Invests $162M in AI Work Placements for Young Canadians
Canada's government is investing in AI-related work placements for young Canadians to prepare them for an increasingly AI-driven economy. The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, announced up to $162 million over five years for Mitacs to support 10,000 co-funded work placement opportunities.
The funding will go towards the Mitacs AI Advantage programming, which aims to strengthen Canada's AI talent pipeline and accelerate AI adoption and commercialization. The program has two streams: ADOPT, which focuses on AI adoption, and AI+X, which supports research work placements and collaborations that apply AI to solve business problems.
The investment is part of the Government of Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All, which aims to create up to 90,000 AI-related job and work placement opportunities for young Canadians by 2031. This initiative will help connect businesses with emerging talent and expertise, enabling them to identify practical applications and deploy AI solutions.