Canadian Science Policy Magazine

The official launch of Canada’s renewed National AI Strategy, “AI for All,” marks a defining milestone for the country’s digital and economic future. With a multi-billion-dollar framework anchored across six core pillars, the strategy sets an aggressive roadmap to supercharge domestic compute infrastructure, accelerate commercial adoption, and scale Canadian tech champions.

Canada has a long history of devaluing defence relative to other national priorities. When Senator Dandurand described our country as “a fireproof house, far from the sources of conflagration” in 1927, he was suggesting it was right and natural that Canadians should choose to pay as low a premium as possible to insure our national sovereignty. Nearly a century later, how have our attitudes changed?

Le lancement de la Stratégie nationale renouvelée du gouvernement fédéral en matière d’IA, « L’IA pour tous », témoigne d’une ambition audacieuse : positionner le Canada comme un chef de file mondial en intelligence artificielle à une époque de profonds bouleversements technologiques, économiques et géopolitiques.

CSPC editorials must reflect the original thought and voice of the author(s). However, we recognize the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in content creation, research, and productivity. Authors may use AI tools (e.g., for idea generation, drafting assistance, editing, summarization, or image generation) to support their writing process. All final editorial content must be written, reviewed, verified, and approved by the author(s) to ensure accuracy, clarity, and integrity.

This panel will examine dementia prevention in Canada through the lens of a central tension: while growing evidence shows that individuals can reduce their risk through lifestyle and health-related factors, the ability to act on that knowledge is shaped by the systems and environments around them.

Mehnaz Tabassum is a true embodiment of multipotentiality, bringing together leadership across entrepreneurship, technology, investment, community impact, innovation, and public service. With more than 10 years of professional experience and as a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Mehnaz possesses a unique combination of business acumen, systems thinking, and social impact leadership.

La nouvelle Stratégie industrielle de défense du Canada marque un tournant réel. Ottawa ne parle plus seulement d’achats, de délais ou de contrats, mais de souveraineté, d’innovation et de capacité industrielle. L’ambition est claire : accroître la R-D liée à la défense, renforcer la place des entreprises canadiennes et structurer l’ensemble autour de la logique BUILD–PARTNER–BUY. C’est là que le débat canadien reste incomplet.

Canada’s recent Defence Industrial Strategy presents itself as a project of national economic alignment. It aims, in short, to align federal and military investment with Canada’s industrial sector, including supply chains, critical minerals, AI development, and more.

Le principal défi ne réside pas dans la recherche. Le Canada dispose d’un système universitaire performant, d’une base scientifique solide et d’un écosystème d’innovation diversifié. Le véritable enjeu tient à la capacité de transformer l’innovation issue de la recherche en solutions opérationnelles dans des délais compatibles avec les impératifs opérationnels et dans le respect des exigences de sécurité nécessaires.

To echo Mark Carney’s Davos speech, international relationships have changed, and while we may wish we could return to how things were, the reality is the world is not what it once was. As Canada moves to increase defence spending and build our R&D capabilities, many are looking for examples of how to best spend these investments. While there is wisdom in doing this, we must be cautious.