Canada's AI leadership takes centre stage at ALL IN 2026

Canada's flagship AI conference highlighted new investments, international partnerships and the country's leadership in AI

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 17, 2026 /CNW/ -- Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming economies and creating new opportunities across industries. ALL IN 2026, an initiative of Scale AI, is Canada's flagship AI conference. The two-day event showcased the strength of Canada's AI ecosystem and brought together innovators, investors, researchers and international partners to help shape the future of AI.

At ALL IN 2026, the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, undertook a series of high-profile engagements, including keynote addresses at the conference's opening and closing sessions, panel discussions, and stakeholder meetings, highlighting Canada's leadership in AI and strengthening collaboration with domestic and international partners. Highlights included the following:

• Minister Solomon joined Mila, Mozilla and Hypertec as they announced plans to establish a Canadian-led open-source AI consortium. The initiative aims to make advanced AI tools easier and more affordable for small and medium-sized businesses and other organizations to adopt, while giving users greater choice and control over their technology and data.
• He announced, alongside Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Germany's Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation, and Yoshua Bengio, Founder and Scientific Director of LawZero, that the Government of Canada and the Federal Government of Germany are planning to invest CAD 150 million and EUR 100 million, respectively, in LawZero to develop a fundamentally new form of advanced AI, designed to be trustworthy, transparent and safe by design.
• He welcomed a new applied research partnership between Mila and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, strengthening Canada–Germany collaboration in areas including safe AI systems, open-source AI, smart energy and Earth observation. He also co-chaired the first meeting of the Sovereign Technology Alliance with Minister Wildberger to advance practical Canada–Germany cooperation on AI, digital infrastructure and other critical technologies.

Canada's AI ecosystem continues to attract global investment and talent, anchored by world-leading researchers, innovative startups and companies developing technologies that improve productivity and competitiveness across sectors. Through Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All and investments in research, commercialization and adoption, Canada is helping ensure AI delivers economic benefits for Canadians while advancing innovation that is safe, responsible and trusted.

Quotes

"Canada's AI advantage starts with our people, our researchers and our entrepreneurs. At ALL IN, we brought those strengths together with new investments and international partnerships that will help Canadian businesses adopt AI, support the development of safer systems and create new opportunities for Canadians."
– The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

"Canadian researchers and entrepreneurs are at the forefront of some of the world's most exciting advances in AI. Through investments in innovation, commercialization and talent, the government is helping Canadian companies grow, compete globally and turn breakthrough ideas into economic opportunities. ALL IN, an initiative of Scale AI, one of Canada's global innovation clusters, demonstrates why Canada remains a destination of choice for AI investment and innovation."
– The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

"Canada and Germany are strong partners. At ALL IN, we further deepened our close cooperation. The merger of Cohere and Aleph Alpha and the financing commitments and collaboration with LawZero clearly demonstrate that our shared path leads to AI that is safe, builds trust and benefits our citizens and businesses."
– Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Germany's Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation

Quick facts

• ALL IN is Canada's flagship AI conference, bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders and policymakers from around the world.
• The 2026 edition attracted more than 8,500 participants from over 50 countries, reinforcing Canada's position as a global hub for AI innovation and collaboration.
• Germany was the country of honour for ALL IN 2026, creating new opportunities for collaboration between Canadian and international AI ecosystems.
• Founded in 1984, Hypertec aims to bring expertise, innovation and strong partnerships to transform challenges into opportunities for sustainable growth through technology solutions, with clients in over 80 countries.
• Mila, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, is one of the world's leading academic AI research institutes. Based in Montréal and funded in part by the Government of Canada, Mila conducts fundamental and applied research and advances responsible AI development, talent and innovation.
• Mozilla Foundation is a global non-profit organization with extensive experience developing and maintaining open-source technology. Through its work with Mila, Mozilla is contributing engineering expertise and resources to help make open-source AI systems more accessible, secure and practical to deploy.
• Headquartered in Montréal, LawZero is a not-for-profit organization developing a novel approach to advanced AI that is designed to be trustworthy, transparent and safe by design. By anchoring critical research, talent and computing capacity in Canada, LawZero's Scientist AI project will strengthen Canada's technological sovereignty and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled AI systems.
• In February 2026, Canada and Germany launched the Sovereign Technology Alliance (STA), an initiative that will deepen collaboration with trusted partners to use common AI models, share digital infrastructure, access capital and participate in joint research. The STA builds on the Canada–Germany Digital Alliance announced in December 2025 and the Canada-Germany joint declaration of intent on AI cooperation, which anchor growing bilateral cooperation.
• On June 4, 2026, the Government of Canada launched Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All.

Related products

• Canada and Germany invest in LawZero to build a new approach to safe, sovereign AI
• First Meeting of the Co-Chairs of the Sovereign Technology Alliance

Associated links

• Artificial intelligence ecosystem
• Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All
• ALL IN 2026
• Scale AI
• Mila
• Hypertec
• Mozilla Foundation
• LawZero

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Contacts: Leela Polushin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, [email protected], 343-543-5391; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]