Ottawa expands AI support across the Prairies

Canada is a modern AI pioneer, and with Alberta at the forefront, Ottawa wants to put that technology to work.

On Oct. 22, Eleanor Olszewski, minister of emergency management and community resilience and minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), announced the expansion of the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative (RAII) in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

The expansion puts an additional $500 million behind the program.

Part of Canada’s AI for All strategy, this funding expansion (delivered by Canada’s regional development agencies) will be spread over five years, bringing the total federal investment in the national initiative to $700 million. 

RAII launched in 2024 with an original investment of $200 million.

In the Prairies, this expansion will help businesses and organizations adopt and integrate AI in ways that improve productivity, competitiveness, and resilience, while also reflecting regional strengths and priorities.

The program will also support AI companies looking to gain customers, attract investment, and commercialize and scale Canadian-made products and services.

Support will put particular emphasis on five sectors identified as priorities in Canada’s AI strategy: health and life sciences, energy and natural resources, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing and robotics.

“Through the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative, our government is helping businesses across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba adopt AI, commercialize Canadian-made solutions and compete in a rapidly changing global economy,” says Eleanor Olszewski, minister responsible for PrairiesCan.

Added Minister of Artificial Intelligence Evan Solomon, “The Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative is AI for All in action, accelerating responsible AI adoption, helping Canadian innovators bring their technologies to market and scale globally, and strengthening the regional ecosystems that turn innovation into economic growth.”

The Oct. 22 announcement was followed by another Prairie AI funding update this week.

Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) announced the expansion of its regional AI adoption program, on Oct. 27, with $2.5 million in support from PrairiesCan. 

Federal investment in this initiative is now at $5.6 million, helping small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba access Amii’s machine learning expertise and scale AI capabilities. 

This new round of funding allows Amii to partner with 25 new Prairie-based businesses.

“A robust innovation ecosystem depends on equipping Prairie-based SMEs with the practical AI tools and capabilities needed to scale competitive Canadian businesses,” says Cam Linke, CEO of Amii.

Enterprise software provider Riva, an early beneficiary of the PrairiesCan-supported program, says working with Amii helped accelerate its AI roadmap.

“Amii helped us move from ideas to production-ready solutions while equipping our team with processes that continue delivering value long after the project’s completion,” says Victoria George, vp of product for Riva. 

“This PrairiesCan investment accelerated our AI roadmap, strengthened Alberta’s innovation ecosystem, and positioned Riva to deliver value to our customers much sooner than planned.”

Final shots

• RAII is trying to move AI both into more businesses, and out to market through Canadian AI companies.
• While there are five priority sectors, PrairiesCan has also left room for regional strengths to shape which projects get support.
• Amii’s separate expansion adds another 25 Prairie SMEs to an adoption program that has already worked with 30 companies since 2024.