Carney's AI-for-all plan draws swift backlash from Canadians

Prime Minister Mark Carney launched the federal government's "AI for All" strategy Thursday, promising to help Canada catch up globally on artificial intelligence adoption. The plan aims to grow the economy by $200 billion, create 250,000 new AI-related jobs over five years, and increase AI adoption from just over 12 per cent to 60 per cent by 2034.

The strategy rests on three pillars: building trust through modernized legislation and protections against deepfakes and surveillance pricing; creating opportunity through a National AI Literacy Initiative and access to AI tools for post-secondary students; and reinforcing Canadian sovereignty by building a public AI supercomputer.

But the announcement sparked immediate frustration online. On X, users pushed back hard. "No one asked for this; we asked for regulation, for protections for workers, to prevent the slopification of our lives," one post read. Another said: "This is all fking wild like we don't want ai!!!!!"

Carney framed the plan as essential to prevent Canadian talent and startups from leaving and to keep critical parts of the AI ecosystem under foreign control. "AI can shorten our emergency room wait times and make a small business more competitive, if it is governed by Canadian values," he said in a statement.

The backlash signals a widening gap between government priorities and public sentiment on the pace and direction of AI integration into daily life.