Science and Research Committee on Feb. 2nd, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 22 of the Standing Committee on Science and Research.

The committee is meeting to study the mandates of the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation.

I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the witnesses and the members. Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mic, and please mute yourself when you are not speaking. For those on Zoom, at the bottom of your screen you can select the appropriate channel for interpretation: floor, English or French. This is a reminder that all comments should be addressed through the chair.

With that, for today's meeting, I would like to welcome our witnesses.

We have the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. Welcome, Minister.

From the Department of Industry, we have Mark Schaan, associate deputy minister.

Minister, you will have five minutes for your opening remarks, and then we will go to the rounds of questioning.

The floor is yours. Thanks a lot for appearing before the committee.

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Members of the committee, thank you once again for the opportunity to appear before you today.

As you said, Madam Chair, I am joined by officials from my department. I appreciate the committee's interest in this work.

AI is rapidly evolving, and Canadians know it.

They see AI at school, in health care and in their daily lives, sometimes with excitement and sometimes with concern.

Around the world, countries are racing to turn new ideas into real-world tools and real-world jobs.

That is true here, as it is elsewhere around the world.

The countries that succeed will be those that use this technology responsibly, in ways that people can trust and that actually make life better for them. AI is meant to serve people, not the other way around.

When I was appointed as Canada's first Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, it sent a clear signal: Canada is not going to sit on the sidelines of this transformation. We intend to help lead it in a way that delivers real benefits to all Canadians.

To do that, my mandate is anchored in one core principle and three pillars. The core principle is simple: AI for all. The three pillars are these: build, empower and protect.

“AI for all” means this: No matter where you live in Canada, no matter your background, no matter your age, no matter your income, this technology will work for you responsibly, reliably and safely. It will strengthen our economy. It will deliver better public services. It will create good jobs for Canadians and protect people, especially children and vulnerable communities, from harm.

“AI for all” is not a slogan. It's already being put into action, and it is guiding the final stages of our refreshed national AI strategy, which we will launch this quarter.

That strategy is being shaped by real input: ideas shared by Canadians through our public portal, expert advice from our AI task force and insights from researchers, workers and industry leaders across the country. The goal is simple: to set a clear direction for where Canada is going on AI and how we get there on our own terms.

Let me briefly walk you through what the three pillars—build, empower and protect—mean in practice.

The first is “build”. We will build a strong, sovereign and safe AI foundation to drive economic growth and create prosperity. That requires, first, infrastructure. In plain terms, it requires the computing power that allows Canadian companies, especially the small and medium-sized companies that make up 95% of our economy, to build, use and scale new technologies here at home. It's why we launched Canada's sovereign AI compute strategy, backed by a $2-billion investment, including the AI compute access fund. This is about making sure Canadian firms have access to the tools they need to grow, compete and create jobs right here at home.

Building on this work, budget 2025 allows our government to enter into agreements to support the development of AI data centres here in Canada, strengthening our digital infrastructure and expanding our domestic compute capacity. In real terms, that means more opportunities for Canadian innovators, more resilience for our economy and more jobs staying right here at home.

It's also about modern digital sovereignty. Sovereignty is not isolation. It means having the capacity to choose where we build, where we scale and where value stays. It means keeping Canadian intellectual property here in Canada so that we're not simply a farm team for other economies but a country that builds and benefits from our own innovation.

It's a matter of digital sovereignty and choice for Canada.

The second pillar is accountability.

Canada already has extraordinary strengths in talent and research. Our three national AI institutes—Mila in Montreal, Vector in Toronto, and Amii in Edmonton—are global anchors of excellence built by the pioneers who helped shape and build modern AI.

Our focus now is to shorten the distance between impact and insight, turning Canada's world-leading AI science into real adoption, higher productivity, and companies that scale right here at home, including through initiatives like the brand new $100-million venture scientist fund launched by Mila and Inovia just a number of weeks ago. That progress only matters if Canadians are part of it. That fund will help turn scientists' ideas into new businesses. Investing in skills and training is essential to making sure people in every region succeed in an AI-driven economy.

This is about jobs, skills and the future for Canadians.

We're also investing in the next frontier of advanced technology, quantum. Most people don't think about quantum every day, but it does matter. Quantum technologies will shape the future of security, encryption and computing power. Investing now ensures that Canada stays ahead, using Canadian tech to protect Canadian interests. Through the new Canadian quantum champions program, announced in December, we're supporting Canadian-headquartered quantum companies, anchoring talent and expertise here at home.

I know we're running short.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Can you wind it up?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Yes.

The third pillar is “protect”. Trust underpins everything. That's why we launched the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute. That's why we're committed to modernizing our privacy framework to protect Canadians' data, safeguard children online and ensure that, as AI evolves, people's rights, data and privacy remain safe and at the centre of our approach.

AI is moving quickly, and so are we. That's why I'm so glad to be here to talk about our new plan on how to make sure we build a reliable, safe and prosperous Canada, using AI as a tool to serve Canadians.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Minister.

We now start our round of questioning. The first round will be six minutes each.

We start with MP Baldinelli.

Please go ahead. You have six minutes.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here today. However, I must say I'm a little disappointed in your appearance today. When this committee passed a motion on December 1, which was passed unanimously by this committee, the ask was for you to appear for two hours, yet somehow, last week, we found out that you changed your schedule and you're only appearing for an hour today.

In your remarks, you use words like “racing”, and your policy program talks about a “national sprint” and a “focused sprint”. Why are you racing out the door after only one hour today?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

First of all, I'm delighted to be back here, Madam Chair, and I appreciate the invitation.

As you know, I was delighted to appear, in December, for an hour. I was asked back to appear again. I'm delighted to appear today to talk about the mandate, and I'm here with my team to answer any questions.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Perhaps you can stay for the full two hours, then, if that's the case.

Minister, you talk about the strategy of “AI for all”. One key pillar is to build. You used the words “build...strong, sovereign, safe”, and to do that requires infrastructure.

At our last hearing, Minister, we had representatives from Electricity Canada, OPG and the Canadian Nuclear Association. Would you not agree that energy will be one of the fundamental needs of the built infrastructure required for successful AI implementation in this country?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

It's another great question.

You're absolutely right: Part of building sovereign AI will require building infrastructure, and that's why I've had meetings with the provinces and territories. As you know, it's a very big part for the provinces and the territories to make sure they have the infrastructure available to build a prosperous Canada.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Minister, as part of the national task force study—that race, that sprint, to get that study—why were these stakeholder groups—these important stakeholder groups—excluded from the national task force?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Again, as you are aware, we have now published the reports of our 28 task force members. They're available to the public, in both official languages, as I talked about. Indeed, questions about infrastructure and energy very much surfaced in our task force.

Again, as you know, I work very closely with Minister Hodgson and our other ministers who are—

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Minister, it's going to be huge.

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

—building the infrastructure—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Could I please request one person at a time?

Please allow the minister to answer the question.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

My understanding is that one data centre alone could be 300 megawatts. The small modular reactor currently being built in Darlington is 300 megawatts itself. Without safe, reliable power, our AI strategy is doomed to failure.

The Independent Electricity System Operator did a study in 2023. It showed that moving Ontario to a clean grid by 2050 is going to take from 42,000 megawatts to 88,000 megawatts. It's going to cost $400 billion and require six times the 14,000 workers currently in the field. How are we going to go about that, if we're going to grow a sovereign AI industry sector for all, without a clean and reliable source of energy?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, I'm very glad to raise the issue of energy. Regarding the new nuclear facility at Darlington, as the member may know, the federal government has announced our investment of $2 billion. That will generate 3,500 megawatts of power.

We are very well aware of small modular nuclear reactors that Ontario has invested in. We have the north coast transmission line project in B.C. that we're supporting as well. In Alberta, for example.... Just remember that provincial regulators are in charge of the energy grids. That's why you saw that the Alberta Energy Regulator released 1,200 megawatts that will go toward a data centre. We work with the provinces, but as you are well aware, it is the regulators of the province that release their power allocations.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Minister, going to the MOU agreement you have with Cohere to examine AI efficiencies within the government, are there any guardrails with regard to Cohere's participation?

They're going to be providing you with a report, I would imagine, as part of this MOU, on what could take place and how AI can be implemented. Will there be, for example, a procurement process put in place, or will they simply prepare a report to say that they have the capabilities to assist government and to provide the functionality you need? Would it not be better if we had an open, fair and transparent procurement process in place? Is that in the MOU?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

We are very delighted to have signed a memorandum of understanding with Cohere. Again, we are one of the four countries that have a large language model. The U.S. has a bunch. China has a bunch. There's one in France, and here in Canada, we have Cohere. We believe that is strategically important.

We are very happy to have signed a memorandum of understanding. They are going through the exact, proper channels to make sure that they are used inside government to find efficiencies in government as part of that process and as part of our office of government transformation. It is very important to use and buy Canadian and to be a customer for Canadian companies.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Have you legally engaged Cohere to provide those services? If so, was there an open, fair and transparent procurement process?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry for interrupting. The time is up. Maybe you will have an opportunity to respond in the second round.

We will now proceed to MP Rana for six minutes.

MP Rana, please go ahead.

[Aslam Rana, Liberal, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much, Minister Solomon, for being here with us.

In my riding of Hamilton Centre, universities and research institutions are leading advances in artificial intelligence. As the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, in your view, what potential does AI have to drive economic growth and productivity in southern Ontario?

[Evan Solomon, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

First of all, thank you for the question. I really appreciate that.

When we say “AI for all”, AI is going to benefit all provinces, and I hope Canadians listening to this appreciate that it is. Even though I'm the minister for economic development for southern Ontario, in my capacity as Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation we are making sure this benefits all Canadians across this country from coast to coast to coast, whether rural or urban.

Part of the goal of our national AI strategy is to make sure we are building the infrastructure and supporting small and medium-sized businesses through things like our AI compute strategy and our $300-million AI compute access fund to make sure that small and medium-sized businesses have access to the compute power they need to grow their businesses.

We were very pleased, by the way, to know that when we opened up that fund in the summer, over 1,000 applicants applied. In other words, the demand for that kind of support in our innovation economy is very strong.

I should say one last thing: At the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario—I know this is where the member's riding is really important—we have a special fund for artificial intelligence as well. In the last decade, we've invested more than $420 million in projects that have had a component of AI adoption. Remember that many of those investments are zero-interest loans to the companies that repay them. By the way, this is in every riding—Conservative ridings, Liberal ridings—where innovation is happening, and we're very proud of that.

In Ontario alone, there are 400,000 workers in the innovation sector. Across this country, the fastest-growing job sector is the digital sector. Over 800,000 people work in that sector, and about 150,000 people are already in the AI sector alone. Investing in this has already been hugely impactful and has created good jobs for Canadians.

[Aslam Rana, Liberal, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Thank you very much.

I'm thankful to you for announcing $1 million for my riding, and I'm expecting more as well.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Aslam Rana, Liberal, Hamilton Centre, ON]

My next question is this: How does the government plan to protect our digital sovereignty while negotiating with an increasingly hostile southern neighbour?