Canada's National AI Strategy Is Out. The Experts Who Read It Have Concerns.

Canada released its long-awaited national AI strategy in early June 2026. The Walrus assembled responses from eight researchers, policy analysts, and legal experts who read the full document. Their verdict is largely critical — and the specifics matter for anyone working in AI strategy, governance, or enterprise adoption.

The strategy, released under Prime Minister Mark Carney and AI Minister Evan Solomon, sets six pillars. Only one addresses protection and accountability. The other five focus on AI adoption, development, and infrastructure. According to Cynthia Khoo, principal lawyer at Tekhnos Law and senior fellow at the Citizen Lab, the phrase "human rights" does not appear in the document even once.

Key Takeaways

• Trust deficit already exists. The 2026 Ipsos AI Monitor found 67% of Canadians feel nervous about AI, and only 26% are excited. A KPMG/University of Melbourne survey found 75% expect government to regulate AI. Critics say the strategy responds to this with literacy campaigns rather than enforceable law.
• Voluntary regulation, no binding legislation. Canada's proposed AI and Data Act died without passing. This strategy does not commit to putting any high-risk AI system on a statutory footing. Blair Attard-Frost (University of Alberta) calls the resulting framework "loose, inconsistent, and opaque."
• Governance as afterthought, not precondition. Vass Bednar, Managing Director of the Canadian Shield Institute, summarized the core critique: "Canada is treating AI governance as the after care for adoption rather than the condition that makes adoption legitimate in the first place."

The strategy's investments in AI infrastructure, talent retention, and multinational alliances drew some measured support — but experts say the absence of binding accountability mechanisms undermines its stated goal of public trust.

Read the full article on The Walrus