The Canadian government has launched its Sovereign AI Compute Strategy, a three-pronged investment vehicle that aims to support the country’s AI ecosystem.

Over a five-year period starting 2024-25, the government said it would invest CA$2 billion to launch new initiatives that will give Canadian researchers and AI companies the tools they need to be competitive globally.

Of that sum, up to CA$300m will be used to provide SMEs with affordable access to compute power via the AI Compute Access Fund, while up to CA$700m will be allocated to support the growth of Canadian AI champions by leveraging investments in new or expanded data centers through the newly launched AI Compute Challenge.

The final CA$1 billion will be used to build “transformational” public supercomputing infrastructure.

In a statement, the Canadian government said the Sovereign AI Compute Strategy would be “guided by the voices of Canadians” and would make “strategic investments” in public and commercial infrastructure to “ensure that Canadian innovators, businesses, and researchers have access to the compute capacity they need.”

François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry said: “The strategy we’re announcing today is a major step toward securing Canada’s place as a global AI leader.

“We’re proud to be a driving force in the worldwide ecosystem, and by increasing access to domestic and secure compute capacity, we will help businesses, innovators, and researchers boost the Canadian economy and stand out on the world stage. This is about Canada showing its ambition, supporting Canadian innovation, and investing in the economy of the future.”

The public consultations on the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy ran over the summer of 2024 and received input from more than 1,000 stakeholders from research, industry, and civil society.

According to the Canadian government, approximately 670 Canadian AI start-ups and 30 Canadian generative AI companies have received investments of more than CA$1m since 2019.

One of the first investments through the new strategy will be a Cohere/Coreweave data center, though details weren't shared.