⚡ Quick Summary
Published by The Alan Turing Institute, this country profile is part of the AI governance around the world series, which maps national approaches to AI regulation and standardisation through a consistent framework and primary sources. The profile covers Canada's high-level aims and principles, its definitions of relevant technologies, key policy initiatives and the main features of its standardisation system.
It traces a shift from the innovation-focused 2017 Pan-Canadian AI Strategy — CAD 125M invested in 2017 and CAD 443M in 2021 — towards regulation through the 2022 AI and Data Act (AIDA) in the omnibus Bill C-27, inspired in part by the EU AI Act. It records that AIDA was halted in the House of Commons after the resignation of the Prime Minister and the prorogation of Parliament in early 2025, with no indication yet whether it will be reintroduced in the 45th Parliament. The profile also documents the Directive on Automated Decision Making, the 2023 generative AI code of practice and voluntary code of conduct, the Canadian AI Safety Institute, and the Standards Council of Canada's accreditation pilot testing AI systems against ISO 42001. Its conclusion is that Canada's eventual standardisation approach remains undetermined.
🧩 What’s Covered
- Executive summary: frames Canada's move from an innovation-led strategy to regulation centred on AIDA, and records that the bill was halted in the House of Commons in early 2025.
- High-level aims and principles: the CAD 125M (2017) and CAD 443M (2021) investments, the Digital Charter's ten principles, Canada's 2019 adoption of the OECD AI principles, Bill C-27's three proposed Acts, and copyright consultations in 2021 and 2023.
- Definitions of relevant technologies: the DADM's characterisation of AI as technology performing tasks that would ordinarily require biological brainpower, and its definition of an automated decision system, with notes on what each definition excludes.
- Key policy initiatives: AIDA's risk-based high-impact approach and 2023 amendments; the Canadian AI Safety Institute; the six principles of the Canadian Guardrails for Generative AI code of practice; the Voluntary Code of Conduct; the DADM's algorithmic impact assessment; the FASTER principles; the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security's guidance; the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy's three pillars; and GPAI.
- Approach to AI standardisation: the SCC's coordinating role, CAD 8.6M earmarked for AI standards, the 2021 roadmap of the Data Governance Standardization Collaborative covering 35 issues, the Schwartz Reisman white paper's three criteria for prioritising use cases, and the 2022–2023 accreditation pilot against ISO 42001, the Algorithmic Impact Assessment and the Responsible AI Institute's scheme.
- International engagement: the SCC's membership of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42, its role in developing ISO/IEC 42001, and proposals for a Canada–EU product certification scheme and cooperation with NIST.
💡 Why it matters?
Canada's profile matters because it shows what a horizontal, risk-based AI regime looks like when its flagship statute stalls: AIDA is inactive, so binding requirements currently attach mainly to federal government use through the Directive on Automated Decision Making, while industry-facing instruments remain voluntary. For teams assessing obligations, the profile sets out the DADM's algorithmic impact assessment, bias testing and publication duties, and the code of conduct's expectations on risk management and standards contributions. Its account of the SCC's ISO 42001 pilot and of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42 participation is directly relevant to organisations planning certification and to comparison with the EU AI Act and the OECD principles the document cites.
❓ What’s Missing
The profile is deliberately descriptive and states that it does not comment on the efficacy of the governance models it describes. Because AIDA is inactive, much of its legislative detail is historical rather than operative, and the document leaves open whether AIDA will be reintroduced, to what extent Canada will adopt international AI standards wholesale or adapt them, and how horizontal and vertical standards will be balanced. The codes of practice and conduct offer principles without technical guidance, and the document notes that they omit copyright, worker exploitation, redress mechanisms and user education. Provincial and territorial regulation is mentioned only in passing.
👥 Best For
Policy analysts and compliance leads mapping what currently binds AI use in Canada and what remains voluntary; standards specialists tracking ISO/IEC 42001 adoption and the SCC's accreditation and collaborative work; and comparative governance teams benchmarking national approaches against the EU AI Act and the OECD principles.
📄 Source Details
AI governance around the world: Country profile: Canada, by Stephanie Cairns and Uzma Chaudhry, published by The Alan Turing Institute in August 2025; 19 pages, in English. The printed citation reads: Cairns, S. and Chaudhry, U. (2025). AI governance around the world: Canada. The Alan Turing Institute. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16779348. The full 19-page text extraction was available, including cover, executive summary, regulatory and standardisation sections and footnotes; the acknowledgements name Ashley Casovan as expert reviewer of the draft.
