Canada Invests in 10,000 AI-Related Work Placements for Young Canadians

The Canadian government has announced an investment of up to $162 million over five years to support 10,000 AI-related work placements for young Canadians. The funding will be provided to Mitacs through its AI Advantage programming, which aims to strengthen Canada's AI talent pipeline and accelerate AI adoption and commercialization.

The initiative is part of the government's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All, which focuses on building an AI-skilled nation and helping young Canadians gain practical AI skills and experience. Through AI for All, the government will create up to 90,000 AI-related job and work placement opportunities for young Canadians by 2031.

The funding will support two complementary 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 goal is to connect Canadian talent with businesses and organizations, giving young Canadians paid, practical AI experience while helping Canadian businesses adopt AI and improve productivity.

The Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, stated that 'AI is changing the way we work and creating new opportunities across our economy.' He added that by investing in AI-related work placements, the government is 'investing in Canadian talent while helping businesses adopt AI, boost productivity and compete.'