Advisory group stems from a desire to maintain regular contact with labour leaders following initial meetings.

Canada’s upcoming AI strategy will consider the perspective of workers through a yet-to-be-formed AI and Labour Advisory Council, according to AI Minister Evan Solomon. 

The council stems from a desire to maintain regular contact with labour leaders following initial meetings last week, Solomon told BetaKit in an interview at Chips North on Tuesday. Solomon acknowledged these plans again at the Public Policy Forum in Toronto on Thursday.

“The purpose of [the meeting] was to show labour leaders that we are developing our strategy with labour in mind,” Solomon told BetaKit. “Because workers are at the heart of this, jobs are at the heart of this.”

“AI for all has to walk the walk. I think that’s what we’re getting right, and you’ll see that showing up in the strategy.”

Solomon’s office later told BetaKit in an email that the goal of the council is to ensure workers have a direct voice in shaping how AI is governed and deployed across the economy, as well as  to provide ongoing advice about AI’s labour market impacts, inform governance measures that affect workers, and serve as a “standing consultation mechanism between labour and the AI ministry.”

The council’s membership is still being finalized, according to Solomon’s office, with more details coming as part of the AI Strategy’s broader rollout. Solomon is in charge of delivering the strategy, which was initially promised to drop before the end of 2025 but has been repeatedly delayed. The six “pillars” of the strategy were teased in last week’s Spring Economic Update. 

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Solomon has met with over a dozen labour unions, including the Canadian Labour Congress, Unifor, Teamsters Canada, UFCW Canada, and CUPE. He told BetaKit that the unions’ top-of-mind concerns included skills training, AI use, algorithmic transparency, human in the loop, how AI will be used in job sites, where it’s productive, and what its “Canadian uses” are. 

“I think what we heard loud and clear is they want to make sure that, number one, Canada retains control,” Solomon said. “So we can have a say in the direction of the limit of how AI’s used, how it’s implemented in the workforce, [and] what are [its] responsibilities.” 

Despite receiving more than 11,000 submissions to the federal government’s 30-day AI strategy consultation back in October, Solomon said he’s continuing to meet with various groups like environmentalists, young people, and queer entrepreneurs to understand their perspective on potential future AI regulation. 

“AI for all has to walk the walk,” Solomon said. “I think that’s what we’re getting right, and you’ll see that showing up in the strategy.”

Feature image courtesy Alex Riehl for BetaKit.