Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government has tabled its first official budget, entitled Canada Strong. It frames itself as a road map of investments being made to strengthen national sovereignty via economic productivity and national defence. Central to those efforts is artificial intelligence.

AI-heavy technologies have been identified by eight federal agencies in the 2025 budget as a way to reduce operational expenditures while fuelling productivity.

Many of the investments in the budget are aimed at developing the defence industry through the creation and commercialization of what’s known as dual-use technology — goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications — which can also include AI.

But is Canada Strong actually weak on AI?

Given the current legislative landscape and the new budget, we argue that Canada Strong’s AI plan downplays regulation and guardrail development, since funding is geared chiefly toward adoption. It overlooks the risks, impacts and potential weaknesses that come with an over-reliance on these technologies.

Indirectly, the Canadian government has consistently supported AI research through the Federal Granting Agency, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

Between 2006 and 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government invested more than $13 billion in science, technology and innovation during its........

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