Prime Minister Mark Carney to take ‘active role’ in new AI advisory council

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark Carney will take a hands-on role in setting the agenda for Ottawa’s new AI advisory council.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the new group, announced Friday, will take an “all of government” approach to advising on AI.

It’s at least the fourth AI-focused advisory council appointed by the Liberal government, following groups focused on the technology’s impact on labour and culture.

“The prime minister recognizes that government action must match the speed of AI,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

“As such, he will play an active role in setting the council’s agenda, with particular attention devoted to areas under which mandates between departments overlap.”

The advisory council includes AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, as well as experts in economics, business and AI.

That includes Gillian Hadfield, whose work at the Johns Hopkins school of engineering focuses on AI alignment and governance, University of Toronto computer science associate professor Sanja Fidler and Jordan Jacobs, co-founder of venture capital firm Radical Ventures.

Other members include Eric Lamarre, special adviser at consulting firm McKinsey, former banker Louis Vachon, former national security adviser Jody Thomas and Carney’s former principal secretary and now senator, Thomas Pitfield.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a release Friday the council would “provide independent, practical advice on Canada’s AI transformation.”

It said the group would “advise on the evolution of the government’s AI for All strategy, including accelerating adoption, fostering national champions, and building sovereign AI infrastructure. Its members will advise on making AI safer, protecting our democracy, and ensuring that all Canadians prosper from AI.”

The government already has an advisory council housed at Innovation Canada, which the spokesperson said is more focused on technical advice to the minister.

The Liberal government has also launched a new advisory council on AI and labour, which held its first meeting Monday.

Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon met with the group, whose membership is largely made up of labour unions. They include Unifor, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, as well as unions representing nurses, teachers, building trades, and food and commercial workers.

Solomon said in an online post the “meeting focused on skills training, worker rights, and supporting fair workforce transitions as Canada advances its AI strategy.”

The government also launched a separate advisory council on AI and culture in March.

It said in a release in March that group is a joint initiative between Solomon and Culture Minister Marc Miller.

“The Council will help government and the creative sector navigate the rapid changes being driven by artificial intelligence, and provide ongoing advice and insight to support both the protection of Canada’s cultural industries and the opportunities for growth and innovation,” the release said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2026.