Post-secondaries “absolutely vital” to Canada’s AI strategy

From the Springboard Content Lab

In a wide-ranging interview with University Affairs, Evan Solomon, Canada’s first-ever minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation, confirmed that he sees post-secondary institutions as “absolutely vital” to the country’s AI strategy.

Minister Solomon said the role of higher education is foundational, and Canada must invest in a skilled, educated workforce to ensure that AI tools benefit everyone across sectors, not just a tech elite.

“AI was essentially invented by Canadian advanced researchers. That’s Geoffrey Hinton, that’s Yoshua Bengio, that’s Rich Sutton. Our academic institutes really pioneered AI, so we have to keep Canada at the forefront.”

AI Minister Evan Solomon

From AI pioneers to future-ready learners

Solomon pointed out that Canada’s historical contribution to AI — from foundational research to breakthroughs in machine learning — stemmed from its academic institutions.

Many of the foundational figures in AI are still attached to Canadian universities and research institutes such as Vector Institute (Toronto), Mila (Montréal) and Amii (Edmonton).

These institutes and their affiliated universities are on the global frontier of AI research. But the minister’s vision extends beyond just research: he sees institutions teaching healthcare, engineering, urban planning, and other disciplines reshaped by AI, with transformative applications from diagnostics to sustainable infrastructure design.

On top of that, universities are increasingly viewed as innovation engines and not just as places of scholarship. He sees post-secondary institutions as ecosystems that spawn startups, drive commercialization, and anchor “sovereign compute infrastructure.”

The government plans to house a new Canadian-owned supercomputer at universities, aiming to give researchers state-of-the-art capacity to remain competitive globally. University Affairs

What this means for Atlantic Canada

For regions like Atlantic Canada — including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador — the minister’s emphasis sends a clear signal: post-secondary institutions outside central tech hubs must be part of the national AI vision.

Springboard led an AI roundtable with stakeholders in the Atlantic Canada ecosystem. It also produced the Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Action Plan for Atlantic Canada.

“The vision is to create a more productive, innovative, and inclusive regional economy and society, one where responsible AI is embedded across key sectors such as oceans, healthcare, cleantech, and cybersecurity. Anchored by strong public-private academic collaboration, the strategy aims to foster sustainable growth, strengthen public service delivery, and build a resilient AI talent.”

– Springboard AI Strategy and Action Plan

A vision for inclusive AI

Minister Solomon said AI should not become a tool reserved for a few. Instead, the federal strategy emphasizes “AI for all” — meaning everyone across sectors and geographies should share in the benefits, provided there’s a foundation of trust, privacy protections, and widespread literacy around AI.

By grounding that vision in universities — rather than leaving it to private corporations alone — Canada is signaling that it values broad access, public interest, and long-term societal capacity. For Atlantic Canada, that opens the door to becoming part of that public AI future.