Canada's AI regulation that died: The story of AIDA

The Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA), introduced by the Liberal government as part of Bill C-27 in June 2022, died in committee earlier this year after a period of legislative limbo.

This leaves Canada, a country that launched the world's first national AI strategy in 2017 and invested over $4.4 billion in AI research infrastructure, without dedicated AI regulation at a critical moment for the technology.​

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society said AIDA  "was among the most significant of its efforts to ensure the safe and responsible use of AI within its borders."

Precursors to the bill

In March 2017, when the Federal government tabled Budget 2017, it proposed $125 million for the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, to be delivered through the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. That same month, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the launch of the Vector Institute in Toronto.

The Strategy was framed to promote collaboration among Canada's main centres of AI expertise, the three National AI Institutes of Canada: Vector, Mila, and Amii.

"By encouraging cutting-edge technology like AI while at the same time creating a culture of lifelong learning, we will be with Canadians every step of the way as they lead us into a future filled with possibility," stated then-Finance Minister Bill Morneau in a 2017 announcement. 

The government was looking to reform privacy and digital regulations. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is a federal law in Canada that governs how private-sector organisations collect, use, and disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities.

In January 2018, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics concluded a review of PIPEDA (required every five years). It concurred with many of the Privacy Commissioner's recommendations to amend the Act, following the identification of various deficiencies in Canadian privacy law.

Notably, in March 2018, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner received a complaint regarding Facebook's compliance with PIPEDA following revelations that Cambridge Analytica accessed millions of Facebook users' private data without consent, affecting over 600,000 Canadians.

The Privacy Commissioner's 2017-2018 Annual Report expressed frustration with the government's slow progress on privacy reform. In the years that followed, the federal government launched a series of digital reform initiatives, including Canada's Digital Charter in 2019, which served as a baseline for future privacy and AI reforms.

Increasing focus on AI initiatives

Following the 2021 election, the re-elected Liberal government reintroduced privacy reform as Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, in June 2022. This new bill included three acts: the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and AIDA.

From there, the legislative process began. While it passed the first and second readings in the House, the bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, which held 31 meetings and heard from approximately 69 witnesses across various categories. 

At the time, there was much scrutiny towards the bill. The University of Toronto's Citizen Lab released a report proposing 19 amendments to Bill C-27 and noting that "if the government's goal is to pass privacy law that respects the rights and dignity of Canadian residents, it should consider withdrawing C-27."

In December 2023, over 25 Canadian civil society organisations, experts, and academics released an open letter to the House of Commons Industry Committee, requesting a full public consultation on the AIDA. They cited concerns, such as placing its AI & Data Commissioner under the authority of the Industry Minister, who subsidises the AI industry, and a heavy focus on industry input over non-industry stakeholders.

In April 2024, the INDU Committee began a clause-by-clause review of Bill C-27, later announcing a pause of the study of Bill C-27 until September 2024.​

Momentum drops with a new election

At a Mila-hosted event in November 2024, Minister Champagne announced the launch of the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (CAISI). The project had an initial budget of $50 million over a five-year period.

"The Canadian Institute for Artificial Intelligence Security will propel Canada to the forefront of global efforts to use AI responsibly, and will be a key player in building public trust in these technologies," said Champagne at the event. "In a world that's evolving quickly and full of unknowns, Canadians can be confident that we will always take the necessary steps to ensure the AI they use is safe, responsible, and trustworthy".

The CAISI was successfully launched, but former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation earlier this year led to the demise of Bill C-27, and thus the AIDA, on the Order Paper. 

While Canada partners with companies like Cohere (which raised $500 million in 2024) and establishes an AI Safety Institute, the country still lacks an official regulatory framework to govern AI development and deployment.

This month, Budget 2025 announced $925.6 million over five years to establish "large-scale sovereign public AI infrastructure". However, $800 million of this amount was previously announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement. But Canada's AI regulatory framework is yet to be put into law.