Canadian Plan for Regenerative AI

August 5, 2025

An open letter and action plan addressed to the Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, his Ministers, Minister Evan Solomon and all public servants shaping Canada’s AI future.

A Story of Potential, Not Panic

At first light in Gastown, a matte‑painter named Ayla balances a laptop on a cedar bench. With a few open‑source models and a rented GPU, she transforms archival sketches of the North Shore mountains into immersive film backdrops. Five years ago, Ayla was touch‑up staff on tourist photos. Today she leads creative teams and hires apprentices of her own. Her journey distills a wider truth: when Canadians have equitable access to advanced tools, productivity and opportunity rise together.

The Opportunity And the Trust Gap

Public surveys across British Columbia show genuine excitement about AI, tempered by uncertainty about transparency, data governance, and job security. Community dialogues at the 2025 BC + AI Symposium underscored a central theme: innovation must travel at the speed of public trust. Citizens welcome technology that serves clear, shared goals—especially when they see their values and voices reflected in its design.

Our Mycelial Advantage

British Columbia’s AI ecosystem resembles a forest’s mycorrhizal network—distributed, resilient, and deeply collaborative. Independent studios, Indigenous research labs, ocean‑data scientists, and social‑impact start‑ups exchange knowledge daily. This structure allows us to test ideas quickly, share risk, and embed diverse perspectives from the start. It complements federal ambitions for a more productive, inclusive, and secure economy.

Three Partnership Proposals

We offer three proposals designed to advance federal priorities while respecting local context and sovereignty. Each is crafted as a co‑investment model—shared risk, shared outcomes.

  1. Community High‑Performance Compute (HPC) Clusters
    • Establish regionally distributed GPU facilities in Vancouver, Prince George, and Vancouver Island.
    • Operate under cooperative governance that reserves capacity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), academic researchers, and Indigenous nations.
    • Federal support would catalyse matching contributions from provincial programs and private partners, ensuring broad access without surrendering intellectual property to global cloud monopolies.
  2. National Public‑Engagement Fund for Digital Fluency
    • Seed a $25 million matching fund for libraries, labour unions, and school districts.
    • Support curriculum co‑designed with Indigenous knowledge holders, industry mentors, and citizen panels.
    • Deliver portable micro‑credentials and community workshops—from Haida Gwaii coding camps to elder‑in‑residence data‑literacy circles—so every Canadian can participate confidently in an AI‑enabled economy.
  3. Indigenous‑Led AI Sovereignty Grants
    • Direct ten percent of total federal AI program spending to projects where Indigenous nations retain data ownership, equity, and decision‑making authority.
    • Eligible initiatives include language‑preservation models, environmental monitoring, and culturally grounded economic dashboards.
    • Grants would be administered in partnership with national Indigenous organizations, aligning with Canada’s commitment to reconciliation and shared prosperity.

Workforce 2.0: From Anxiety to Agency

Economic transformation is most durable when workers see a clear path forward. We propose:

  • Paid transition fellowships for mid‑career tradespeople and public‑sector staff to learn AI‑augmented skills while retaining salary.
  • Peer‑mentored learning circles hosted at makerspaces, union halls, and community centres.
  • Portable micro‑credentials recognised by employers across provinces, ensuring mobility and lifelong learning.

Together, these measures can equip at least 250 000 Canadians with in‑demand competencies by 2027, turning apprehension into agency.

Practical, Transparent Governance

Responsible AI cannot rely solely on static ethics frameworks. We recommend citizen‑plus‑expert oversight panels empowered to review and—when necessary—pause public‑sector AI deployments. Transparent procurement that favours open‑source, auditable solutions will both safeguard the public interest and stimulate domestic innovation.

Invitation to a Collaborative Roundtable

To move from proposal to practice, we invite the Prime Minister, key Ministers, Premier Eby, and senior officials to a Collaborative Roundtable at the revitalised Vancouver Shipyards on Burrard Inlet. Twenty stakeholders—workers, Indigenous leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs—will share lived experience and co‑design a pilot roadmap. No speeches, no press release until consensus is reached. The aim is pragmatic alignment, not publicity.

Alignment with Federal Priorities

Illustrative Case Studies

  • Creative Industries: Vancouver studios exporting immersive content generated with local HPC resources, contributing to cultural diplomacy and GDP growth.
  • Environmental Stewardship: Coastal communities applying AI‑driven vision models to monitor salmon migration, informing sustainable fisheries.
  • Indigenous Economic Value: Land‑use models that map ancestral trade routes, supporting strategic investments and revenue‑sharing agreements.

Each example reflects regenerative principles—value creation that respects ecological limits and cultural heritage.

Proposed Timeline

Closing Reflection

Canada stands at a generational crossroads—balancing geopolitical uncertainty, climate urgency, and productivity pressures. British Columbia offers a living laboratory where collaboration, transparency, and respect for sovereignty already guide AI development. By partnering on the proposals above, we can convert local experiments into national advantages and global leadership.

We extend this letter in a spirit of constructive partnership, confident that when governments, communities, and innovators work side by side, Canada not only keeps pace with the world’s AI leaders—it sets a new standard for inclusive, regenerative progress.

Respectfully,

Kris Krüg

Interim Lead, BC + AI Industry Association

On the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil‑Waututh) Nations

4 August 2025