---
title: "Canada’s AI Strategy Rightly Targets Adoption, but Funding Alone Won’t Get Results, Says CCIC"
summary: |-
  Canada’s new National AI Strategy is candid about the central barrier to adoption—many businesses still do not understand how AI can improve their operations—but the strategy’s proposed solutions don’t address the adoption challenge it lays out.
date: "2026-06-05"
content_type: "Press Releases"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2026/06/05/canada-ai-strategy-targets-adoption-but-funding-wont-get-there-ccic/"
---

# Canada’s AI Strategy Rightly Targets Adoption, but Funding Alone Won’t Get Results, Says CCIC

OTTAWA—Following the release of the Government of Canada’s new [National AI Strategy](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/canadas-national-artificial-intelligence-strategy-ai-all), the Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness (CCIC) issued the following statement from [Lawrence Zhang](https://itif.org/person/lawrence-zhang/), head of policy at CCIC:

> *The government’s new AI Strategy is right to recognize that Canada’s problem isn’t a shortage of invention, but a failure to turn its research strength into widespread business adoption. It correctly sets a clear national target and is candid about the central barrier to adoption: Many businesses still do not understand how AI can improve their operations. However, the strategy’s proposed solutions don’t fully address the adoption challenge it lays out.*

> *By the strategy’s own account, 78 percent of firms not using AI say they cannot see how it would benefit their business. That means Canadian businesses aren’t holding back because AI is too expensive; they’re holding back because they don’t know what AI would do for them.*

> *Loans, grants, and readiness tools can lower the cost of adoption, but on their own, they don’t show a manufacturer how AI can improve production or a hospital how it can reduce administrative burden. Practical demonstrations, such as testbeds and extension services, can.*

> *Getting from 12 percent of businesses using AI to 60 percent by 2034 will be an enormous lift, and it will take more than capital. Canada needs a sector-by-sector adoption plan that shows firms which tools work in their settings, what returns they can expect, and how to navigate industry-specific barriers.*

> *If Canada wants firms to adopt AI at scale, it has to show them the technology working in operations like theirs, not just make it cheaper.*

**Contact: **Sydney Mack, [smack@itif.org](mailto:smack@itif.org)

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2026/06/05/canada-ai-strategy-targets-adoption-but-funding-wont-get-there-ccic/*