Who Gets to Decide Canada's AI Future?

Canada's AI ministry used AI to analyze 11,300+ public consultation responses—despite internal warnings it could "further undermine public trust." This episode unpacks what happened when the federal government turned to Cohere, OpenAI, and Anthropic to parse feedback on Canada's AI strategy, and why critics say the entire process was designed to prioritize industry over public concerns.

We cover the leaked November briefing note from Associate Deputy Minister Mark Schaan, the controversy around the 28-person industry-heavy task force, and why major issues like Indigenous consultation and environmental impact barely registered in the government's questions. From Kevin O'Leary's $70 billion Wonder Valley project on Treaty 8 land to the transparency questions around how AI actually analyzed your responses, this is the story of who really gets heard when Canada shapes AI policy.

The strategy drops any day now. By then, it becomes policy.

EPISODE TAGS/KEYWORDS

Canada AI strategy, Evan Solomon, government consultation, AI policy, Indigenous rights, digital sovereignty, OpenMedia, public trust, Ministry of AI, consultation process, Wonder Valley, Kevin O'Leary, Treaty 8, AI governance, transparency

EPISODE CATEGORY

News & Politics / Technology

TIMECODES

0:00 - Intro: AI analyzing AI feedback 0:45 - The breaking news from National Observer 2:15 - Internal government concerns revealed 3:45 - The bigger pattern: industry-captured consultation 5:30 - Wonder Valley: consultation without consultation 6:45 - The trust problem and transparency questions 7:30 - What to watch as strategy drops 8:15 - The takeaway: who really decides?