Driving economy-wide AI adoption in Canada

The Canadian AI Adoption Initiative (CAIAI) aims to tackle Canada’s productivity crisis by accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence across sectors. Co-led by Joël Blit and Danielle Goldfarb, CAIAI brings together experts from academia, government, and industry to guide policy, develop adoption metrics, and create tools for AI integration, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises. While Canada has invested heavily in AI research, the initiative emphasizes the need for widespread implementation to unlock economic value and reverse declining productivity. Rooted at the University of Waterloo, CAIAI builds on the university’s legacy of innovation. Priorities include setting ambitious adoption targets, building public trust, and establishing a national data hub to track progress. CAIAI is a partnership between CIGI, the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, and the University of Waterloo.