Google Canada pledges CAD $13M for national AI training drive

Google Canada has established an AI Opportunity Fund, allocating CAD $13 million to support AI skills training through four Canadian organisations.

The Fund will provide financial support to the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), First Nations Technology Council, Skills for Change, and Toronto Public Library. These organisations are expected to offer AI training to more than two million Canadians, aiming to prepare the workforce for the growing impact of artificial intelligence across all sectors.

"AI is transforming the way we work and can empower people across almost every field. Canada is uniquely positioned to capture the immense AI opportunity, by putting this technology to work. The AI Opportunity Fund will help upskill Canadians nationwide, strengthen our workforce, and prepare Canadians for an AI-powered economy," Sabrina Geremia, Vice President and Country Managing Director for Google Canada, said.

The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute will lead the establishment of a national consortium involving 25 post-secondary institutions across the country. This effort aims to develop AI curriculum materials that can be incorporated into existing courses, reaching 125,000 post-secondary students with foundational AI training to address workforce gaps.

The First Nations Technology Council will focus on training over 335 Indigenous students and providing AI resources to 7,000 Indigenous community members. The objective is to increase Indigenous representation in technology fields.

"Google.org's commitment to supporting AI training programs for Indigenous Peoples represents a meaningful step toward reconciliation by supporting the adoption and innovation of emerging technologies. This initiative enables collaboration with all 204 First Nations in British Columbia, empowering communities to leverage AI for nation-building while driving economic growth and fostering technology-enabled efficiencies that benefit Indigenous Peoples and Canada as a whole," Natiea Vinson, Chief Executive Officer of First Nations Technology Council, stated.

Skills for Change will design AI literacy programmes for 20,000 individuals from communities facing high unemployment rates. Participants will receive industry-relevant training intended to facilitate employment opportunities.

"Our new AI skilling project, made possible through Google.org's generous support, represents a transformative opportunity to bridge the digital divide and create equitable access to the future of work. We are proud to receive Google.org support for this ground-breaking initiative and look forward to shaping a more inclusive and prosperous future together," Surranna Sandy, Chief Executive Officer of Skills for Change, said.

The Toronto Public Library initiative will deliver AI upskilling opportunities to 11,000 community members while providing all residents of Toronto with access to free AI tools and resources.

"As AI rapidly transforms our world, it's crucial that members of society understand and have the skills and abilities to shape and leverage these changes. Through Google.org's generous funding, we will launch an AI Upskilling Initiative, focused on the responsible and ethical use of AI and bring tools, resources and learning opportunities to TPL customers," Vickery Bowles, City Librarian at Toronto Public Library, commented.

Canada is considered to be in a favourable position for AI development, due to its established AI research community and active startup environment. A report by Public First, cited by Google Canada, suggests generative AI could boost the Canadian economy by CAD $230 billion and help the average Canadian worker save over 175 hours each year. The same report indicates that 63% of Canadian workers are interested in acquiring AI skills, with this figure rising to 72% among younger workers.

"Canada has an incredible opportunity to translate decades of AI research excellence into fundamental AI literacy skills for a generation of post-secondary students because of the generous support of Google.org. Amii is proud to lead the effort to build a national AI Workforce Readiness Consortium to empower Canadian students with the fundamental literacy skills they need to succeed in an AI-driven economy. From colleges and polytechnics to U15 Canadian research universities and Indigenous PSE institutes, we're ready to support educators with equitable access to curriculum resources across faculties, programs and domains," Cam Linke, Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, said. commenting on the Fund's role.

This initiative follows previous digital and AI skilling programmes backed by Google Canada, including Google Career Certificates and the Grow with Google programmes. The AI Opportunity Fund is intended to further support the development of AI literacy in line with these ongoing efforts.

"In today's digital economy, it's encouraging to see global leaders like Google.org supporting Ontario's workforce. Their support for the AI Opportunity Fund will equip workers with the skills needed to seize the jobs of tomorrow—and ensures Ontario remains competitive in a fast-changing world," David Piccini, Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, said.