AI Insights for December 2025

As we close out 2025, Canada's AI landscape has accelerated dramatically, driven by unprecedented federal investments in sovereign compute infrastructure, regional adoption programs, and international collaborations, positioning the nation as a global contender in responsible AI innovation. Canadian businesses stand to gain from enhanced data sovereignty and productivity tools, but must navigate emerging regulatory pressures and talent shortages to fully capitalize on these opportunities. ###

• December 14, 2025: OpenAI expanded its Canadian data centre operations in partnership with Hydro-Québec, adding 10,000 GPUs for sovereign compute access
• On December 19, 2025, NVIDIA committed C$1 billion to AI infrastructure in Alberta, including GPU clusters for oil and gas predictive maintenance
• On December 24, 2025, Mila and Microsoft Research unveiled a joint AI ethics toolkit, mandated for federal procurement contracts

Businesses These developments underscore a pivotal shift toward AI sovereignty, with federal investments exceeding C$2 billion enabling Canadian firms to access domestic compute resources and reduce reliance on foreign hyperscalers, particularly beneficial for energy, manufacturing, and tech sectors in Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. However, smaller businesses face challenges in adoption due to skills gaps and infrastructure timelines, while international G7 alignments could impose new compliance costs but open export opportunities in ethical AI tools. ###

• Prioritize sovereign compute access by applying to the AI Compute Challenge and regional funding streams before Q1 2026 deadlines to secure subsidized GPU resources for R&D.
• Invest in AI upskilling programs through partnerships with Mila, Amii, and Vector Institute, targeting 20% workforce training by mid-2026 to address talent shortages.
• Develop internal AI ethics frameworks aligned with G7 declarations and Bill 31 amendments, ensuring compliance for public sector contracts and data privacy.
• Establish cross-industry consortia for AI applications in legacy sectors like energy and manufacturing, leveraging Budget 2025's C$200 million adoption funds.
• Implement pilot projects using quantum-AI hybrids from the new federal initiative to gain competitive edges in innovation-heavy fields like pharmaceuticals. ###

• 22.5% of Canadian businesses have adopted AI, up from 18.9% in November 2025.
• Personal AI usage in Canada reached 45.2% among professionals in December 2025.
• Financial services lead adoption at 31.7%, followed by technology at 28.4%.
• Manufacturing sector adoption grew 4.1 percentage points to 21.3%.
• Healthcare adoption reached 19.8%, driven by federal compute access.