Question Period Note: AI in the Public Service

How is the Government of Canada advancing its responsible AI adoption to improve how it serves Canadians, accelerates scientific research, and protects Canadian security and interests?

• The Government is committed to taking advantage of Artificial Intelligence to increase productivity and efficiency.
• This work is being guided by the AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service.
• The objective of the Strategy is to accelerate responsible AI adoption to deliver better services for Canadians and businesses and enhance the work of public servants.
• The Strategy was developed through extensive consultations with experts and the public. It will be renewed every two years to ensure it remains relevant and responsive to technological advances.
• In the coming months an implementation plan will be published to propel this work forward.

The AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service, published in March 2025, is intended to accelerate the responsible adoption of AI across the Government of Canada to deliver better and more efficient services to Canadians, improve decision-making, advance research, and protect Canada and its interests.
TBS broadly engaged stakeholders, partners and the public to develop the Strategy, publishing a What We Heard Report in January 2025. Participants agreed that AI should be used to modernize and streamline service delivery.
The Strategy sets out key actions to advance responsible AI adoption within the Government of Canada. Some that contribute directly to public service modernization include:

• Establishing an AI centre of expertise to support teams developing and scaling AI tools
• Removing policy and legislative barriers and bedding a “think AI” approach within all planning and funding requests
• Providing all departments with common access to infrastructure, tools, and solutions
• Addressing obstacles to recruiting and retaining AI and data talent and upskilling current public servants at all levels to work with AI
• Outlining key activities for new and emerging digital roles and linking them to learning programs and paths to build future-ready digital professionals and teams

While AI use in the GC is not new, current and significant modernization projects are underway across the GC that leverage AI to drive better service both internal and external to the public service. Examples include:

• The Benefits Delivery Modernization program (ESDC) is using AI in to address:
o Workloads and backlogs for Employment Insurance claim recalculations
o Identifying potential cases of misuse or abuse of the Old Age Security program and fraud in temporary resident applications
• IRCC is using AI to:
o Complete administrative tasks for immigration applications, such as data matching and bulk email creation
o Streamline the processing of routine, low-risk cases for temporary work permits, passports, and temporary residency applications
• Inside the public service, PSPC is using AI to provide a translation tool for public servants. The tool will ensure the workforce has access to protected and on-demand translation tools which will result in operational efficiencies

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