An analysis of 2,355 pre-budget submissions over three years reveals that AI engagement among policy stakeholders is growing fast but remains far too thin and too narrowly focused on competitiveness.
Key Takeaways:
- AI mentions in pre-budget submissions have surged from 3.4% in 2023 to 15.1% in 2025, but five out of every six submissions to government still do not address AI at all, putting policy stakeholders on par with Canada’s lagging firms rather than ahead of them.
- Where AI is discussed, the focus overwhelmingly centres on competitiveness and research investment, with far less attention to sovereignty, data governance, sector-specific transformation in areas like healthcare and financial services, or distributional risks.
- Trade and professional associations are themselves lagging behind their own members in AI engagement, suggesting that the voices government most needs to hear on AI are largely absent from the conversation.
