Science & Technology

Science & Technology

‘This is herculean:’ How Alberta, B.C. Mounties are using AI to write reports

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Yesterday at 7:00 AM CDT

EDMONTON - Mounties are testing a program that could eventually see criminal defendants battle a new opponent in court — artificial intelligence.

RCMP say AI is being used to write police reports on everything from traffic tickets to serious offences — except major crimes including murder — in Alberta and British Columbia detachments in a pilot project.

Developer Axon calls its program Draft One.

It works this way: officers are equipped with body-worn cameras, which record their interactions in the field.

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Business

Quick Quotes: How business, labour and others are reacting to Canada’s AI strategy

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Quick Quotes: How business, labour and others are reacting to Canada’s AI strategy

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Thursday, Jun. 4, 2026

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled Canada's new artificial intelligence strategy Thursday and the document drew swift reactions from many different corners.

Here is what the prime minister, business and labour leaders, opposition politicians and others have to say about the strategy.

"The question isn't whether AI will transform our lives. It will. AI is already changing how we work, how we learn and how we connect. The question is, will it improve the lives of all Canadians or benefit only a few? And that's why we must take a positive, pragmatic and prudent approach that builds safe, reliable and sovereign AI for workers and businesses, for Canada, and for our allies."

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Thursday, Jun. 4, 2026

Football

TV deal, new rules, playoff expansion define CFL commissioner Johnston’s first year

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

TV deal, new rules, playoff expansion define CFL commissioner Johnston’s first year

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 3, 2026

TORONTO - Stewart Johnston has wasted no time putting his stamp on the CFL.

Since becoming commissioner April 24, 2025, the former TSN executive has made three major announcements. The most significant came last week when the CFL unveiled a mega six-year broadcast agreement with Bell Media, DAZN and YouTube that begins in 2027.

Financial figures weren't divulged, but a source told The Canadian Press the deal, all-in, is worth $500 million, making it the most lucrative broadcast agreement in league history. The CFL is entering the final season of its six-year television contract with TSN that paid it an average of $50 million annually.

Johnston admits he didn't expect to be this busy this early into his tenure.

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Wednesday, Jun. 3, 2026

National

Federal government’s new AI strategy will emphasize trust, minister says

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Federal government’s new AI strategy will emphasize trust, minister says

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 2, 2026

OTTAWA - The federal government’s new artificial intelligence strategy will look to build trust in AI, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said Tuesday just days before he is expected to finally make the plan public.

"It'll be lots on trust, lots on empowering workers, lots on building Canada. You'll see the details later this week," Solomon told reporters.

The long-awaited AI strategy is set to be released this week. The federal government has said it will include new privacy and online safety laws.

Solomon said trust is "absolutely vital" and upcoming legislation on online harms and privacy will be an important element in building that trust.

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Tuesday, Jun. 2, 2026

Local

U.S. big tech holds 85% of Canadian cloud market, report says ahead of AI strategy

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

U.S. big tech holds 85% of Canadian cloud market, report says ahead of AI strategy

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 2, 2026

OTTAWA - Three big U.S. tech companies control the vast majority of Canada’s publicly-available cloud infrastructure, says a new report released ahead of the government’s national AI strategy, which is expected to include measures targeting AI sovereignty.

Amazon, Microsoft and Google hold 85 per cent of public cloud market share in Canada — much higher than their global average of 66 per cent, according to the report from the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project released Tuesday.

The federal government is set to release an AI strategy this week. It's expected to call for building a foundation for Canadian sovereign AI as one of its six pillars.

"AI for All will support the building of sovereign compute infrastructure at scale — resilient, sustainable, and under Canadian governance, and grow Canada’s exceptional AI researchers and talent pool," the government said in the spring economic statement.

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Tuesday, Jun. 2, 2026

Business

Connected vehicle data ‘can have intelligence value’ to adversaries: federal document

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Connected vehicle data ‘can have intelligence value’ to adversaries: federal document

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

OTTAWA - Data from an advanced electric vehicle that falls into the wrong hands could be used to track people or carry out surveillance, an internal government document warns.

The Public Safety Canada memo, prepared to address concerns about Chinese vehicles, urges Canadians to be mindful of the security and privacy risks of the digital devices they buy and use.

Earlier this year, Canada pledged to reduce its 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles to 6.1 per cent — with an annual cap of 49,000 vehicles — in exchange for lower tariffs on Canadian agricultural products.

The memo says Canada has to expand its economy in response to a changing geopolitical environment — a necessary step to ensure economic sovereignty.

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Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

Entertainment

Quebec moves ahead with AI cultural databank project

Frédéric Lacroix-Couture, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Quebec moves ahead with AI cultural databank project

Frédéric Lacroix-Couture, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Sunday, May. 31, 2026

MONTREAL - Quebec's national library is moving ahead with plans to create a database of cultural and government content that could be used to train artificial intelligence systems and improve their understanding of Quebec society, culture and Indigenous languages.

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, or BAnQ, the province's national library and archives institution, has launched the experimental phase of its proposed government and cultural databank in French and Indigenous languages after completing a feasibility study earlier this year.

The project aims to address concerns that major generative AI systems often struggle to provide reliable information about Quebec society, economy and culture because of the limited amount of Quebec-related data available to them.

"All scenarios are a little bit on the table right now," Valérie D'Amour, who led the feasibility study, said in an interview. "We have a lot of ideas and we want to validate the possibilities with cultural stakeholders, as well as with data owners and providers, who will be involved in the discussions." 

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Sunday, May. 31, 2026

Hockey

Claude Lemieux’s brain will be donated to Boston University’s CTE Center, his family says

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Claude Lemieux’s brain will be donated to Boston University’s CTE Center, his family says

The Associated Press 2 minute read Saturday, May. 30, 2026

Claude Lemieux’s brain is being donated to the Boston University CTE Center to research the long-term effects of repetitive brain injuries, his family said Saturday in a statement released by daughter Claudia Lemieux Bishop.

Lemieux died of suicide at age 60 on Thursday, according to authorities, after earlier in the week serving as the Montreal Canadiens' torchbearer before a playoff game. He played nearly 1,500 NHL games with six teams from 1983-2009 and was known for his hard-hitting style and ability to perform in big games on the way to winning the Stanley Cup four times.

The family said it gave the CTE Center permission to publicly share any findings with Lemieux's name, adding that no conclusions should be drawn regarding any diagnosis.

“Claude dedicated his post-playing career to helping the next generation,” the family said, referring to Lemieux becoming an agent.

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Saturday, May. 30, 2026

National

Immigration lawyers say automation is partly driving a massive Federal Court backlog

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Preview

Immigration lawyers say automation is partly driving a massive Federal Court backlog

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 7 minute read Saturday, May. 30, 2026

OTTAWA - The number of immigration cases being brought to Federal Court has more than quadrupled since 2020 — and some immigration lawyers are linking the surge in part to the federal government's use of artificial intelligence and automation to clear visa application backlogs.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada insists that technology is not to blame and that multiple factors are driving the boom in legal challenges of the department's decisions.

About 6,400 immigration cases were brought to Federal Court in 2020, a figure in line with the trend over the previous decade. The caseload spiked sharply in 2021, when 9,700 cases were sent to the court.

More than 28,000 cases were filed with the court last year and more than 6,600 were filed in the first quarter of 2026. The vast majority of these cases are not refugee matters.

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Saturday, May. 30, 2026

Business

AI helped a musician with Parkinson’s finish his new album when he could no longer play guitar

Mustakim Hasnath, The Associated Press 7 minute read Preview

AI helped a musician with Parkinson’s finish his new album when he could no longer play guitar

Mustakim Hasnath, The Associated Press 7 minute read Saturday, May. 30, 2026

LONDON (AP) — Samuel Smith spent years writing songs with a guitar in his hands.

Now, the London-based singer-songwriter is using artificial intelligence tools to help him continue making Americana music after Parkinson's disease largely took away his ability to play guitar.

Smith, who was diagnosed with the progressive neurological disorder in 2020, recently released his second album, “The Art of Letting Go.” For one of the eight tracks, an instrumental piece titled “Horizon,” he relied on platforms that use AI to generate music to create demo arrangements that would convey his vision to the musicians who recorded the song.

The demos he created by humming rough melodies into his phone and uploading the recordings into song generators like Suno and Udio weren't for mixing into the final studio version of “Horizon,” Smith stressed. But tremors, stiffness and fatigue, which are common symptoms of Parkinson’s, caused his guitar skills to deteriorate during the more than a year he worked on the album, he said.

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Saturday, May. 30, 2026

Lifestyles

Carney discussed artificial intelligence with Pope Leo

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Carney discussed artificial intelligence with Pope Leo

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Friday, May. 29, 2026

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney told Pope Leo XIV on Friday that Canada wants to take a leadership role in the responsible development of artificial intelligence.

The conversation happened days after the Pope called for robust regulation of AI.

"They discussed the imperative that AI must serve humanity, beginning with the protection of the individual," the Prime Minister's Office said in a release.

"Prime Minister Carney expressed Canada’s desire to lead internationally on responsible AI and tools to benefit the global community."

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Friday, May. 29, 2026

Sports Breaking News

In the news today: AI strategy, B.C. killer discharged, Blue Jays sign Twins pitcher

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

In the news today: AI strategy, B.C. killer discharged, Blue Jays sign Twins pitcher

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Thursday, Jun. 4, 2026

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

PM Carney to announce federal artificial intelligence strategy in Toronto today

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to announce the federal government's strategy on artificial intelligence today in Toronto.

The strategy comes as governments, businesses and civil society navigate the rapid development of machine learning and tools that can process information almost instantly — with varying degrees of accuracy.

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Thursday, Jun. 4, 2026

Local

New $2.3B federal AI strategy looks to close ‘adoption gap,’ build public trust

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

New $2.3B federal AI strategy looks to close ‘adoption gap,’ build public trust

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Thursday, Jun. 4, 2026

OTTAWA - Ottawa wants to increase Canadians' use of artificial intelligence — and it plans to do so through free AI training and legislation to tackle concerns like surveillance pricing and chatbot safety.

Announcing the government's new AI strategy in Toronto on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said "globally, Canada ranks near the bottom of countries in AI training, in literacy and trust."

The long-awaited AI strategy says Canada has "a major adoption gap." It says closing the gap in training and literacy "is the foundation on which everything else depends."

A new literacy initiative will offer entry-level AI training to all Canadians and the government will ensure "all post-secondary students have access to trusted AI agents," the document says.

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Thursday, Jun. 4, 2026

Agriculture

‘Just be amazed:’ Alberta is seeing a cyclical outbreak of caterpillars

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

‘Just be amazed:’ Alberta is seeing a cyclical outbreak of caterpillars

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

EDMONTON - Forest tent caterpillars are not entomologist Ken Fry's favourite insect but the black-coloured critters with vibrant blue-and-yellow marks do have a soft spot in his heart.

They're why his dad once let him break the house rule of not climbing the two poplar trees in their backyard, so Fry could clamber to the top of one and grab hundreds of caterpillar eggs before they hatched and destroyed leaves.

'I was about seven-years-old ... My dad said, 'Ken, get up that tree, get after those caterpillar eggs," said Fry, who is an instructor at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology in central Alberta.

"This particular species allowed me to climb our tree with wild abandon and absolute endorsement of my parents."

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Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

Sports Breaking News

Public Health Agency of Canada defends decision to restrict travel from Ebola-affected countries

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Public Health Agency of Canada defends decision to restrict travel from Ebola-affected countries

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Thursday, May. 28, 2026

TORONTO - The Public Health Agency of Canada says temporarily blocking entry for people coming from Ebola-affected countries is necessary to reduce the risk of importing the disease, despite the World Health Organization's recommendation against travel restrictions. 

"The health and safety of Canadians will always be the Government of Canada's top priority," a spokesperson said in an email to The Canadian Press.

"While the health risk to Canadians from Ebola disease remains low, we are putting forward a precautionary approach to ensure the safety and security of Canadians ... particularly in the context of the FIFA World Cup."

On Thursday, Canada, the United States and Mexico issued a statement saying they have "aligned public health travel measures for individuals coming from African regions at greatest risk from the Ebola virus."

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Thursday, May. 28, 2026

Business

Transportation Safety Board report details lead-up to fatal B.C. helicopter accident

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Transportation Safety Board report details lead-up to fatal B.C. helicopter accident

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Wednesday, May. 27, 2026

VANCOUVER - The Transportation Safety Board has found that a pilot missed important steps on a checklist during maintenance work before one worker was injured and another killed by the tail rotor of a helicopter at a B.C. airport.

The board's report released on Wednesday into the fatal accident said one pilot and two workers were conducting maintenance ground run operations on the helicopter at Smithers Airport on May 6, 2023, when the aircraft unexpectedly rotated 540 degrees. 

The report said both workers on the ground were hit by the helicopter's tail rotor, killing one and severely injuring the other. 

"The pilot expressed to the maintenance staff members that he was interested in following a live sporting event using his cellphone, which he brought into the cockpit," the report said. "He was wearing a Bluetooth earbud in his left ear and listening to music playing through the earpiece."

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Wednesday, May. 27, 2026

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