The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit held from February 10 – 11, 2025 in Paris seems to have been pretty exciting, President Emanuel Macron announced a 09B euros investment in the French AI sector on February 10, 2025 (I have more in my February 13, 2025 posting [scroll down to the ‘What makes Canadian (and Greenlandic) minerals and water so important?’ subhead]). I also have this snippet, which suggests Macron is eager to provide an alternative to US domination in the field of AI, from a February 10, 2025 posting on CCGTN (China Global Television Network),
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday night [February 10, 2025] that France is set to receive a total investment of 109 billion euros (approximately $112 billion) in artificial intelligence over the coming years.
Speaking in a televised interview on public broadcaster France 2, Macron described the investment as “the equivalent for France of what the United States announced with ‘Stargate’.”
He noted that the funding will come from the United Arab Emirates, major American and Canadian investment funds [emphases mine], as well as French companies.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance that punishing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum will hurt his home state of Ohio, a senior Canadian official said.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of an international summit in Paris Tuesday [February 11, 2025], as the Trump administration moves forward with its threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including from its biggest supplier, Canada, effective March 12.
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Speaking to reporters on Wednesday [February 12, 2025] as he departed from Brussels, Trudeau characterized the meeting as a brief chat that took place as the pair met.
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“It was just a quick greeting exchange,” Trudeau said. “I highlighted that $2.2 billion worth of steel and aluminum exports from Canada go directly into the Ohio economy, often to go into manufacturing there.
“He nodded, and noted it, but it wasn’t a longer exchange than that.”
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Vance didn’t respond to Canadian media’s questions about the tariffs while arriving at the summit on Tuesday [February 11, 2025].
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Additional insight can be gained from a February 10, 2025 PBS (US Public Broadcasting Service) posting of an AP (Associated Press) article with contributions from Kelvin Chan and Angela Charlton in Paris, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, and Aijaz Hussain in New Delhi,
JD Vance stepped onto the world stage this week for the first time as U.S. vice president, using a high-stakes AI summit in Paris and a security conference in Munich to amplify Donald Trump’s aggressive new approach to diplomacy.
The 40-year-old vice president, who was just 18 months into his tenure as a senator before joining Trump’s ticket, is expected, while in Paris, to push back on European efforts to tighten AI oversight while advocating for a more open, innovation-driven approach.
The AI summit has drawn world leaders, top tech executives, and policymakers to discuss artificial intelligence’s impact on global security, economics, and governance. High-profile attendees include Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, signaling Beijing’s deep interest in shaping global AI standards.
Macron also called on “simplifying” rules in France and the European Union to allow AI advances, citing sectors like healthcare, mobility, energy, and “resynchronize with the rest of the world.”
“We are most of the time too slow,” he said.
The summit underscores a three-way race for AI supremacy: Europe striving to regulate and invest, China expanding access through state-backed tech giants, and the U.S. under Trump prioritizing a hands-off approach.
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Vance has signaled he will use the Paris summit as a venue for candid discussions with world leaders on AI and geopolitics.
“I think there’s a lot that some of the leaders who are present at the AI summit could do to, frankly — bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to a close, help us diplomatically there — and so we’re going to be focused on those meetings in France,” Vance told Breitbart News.
Vance is expected to meet separately Tuesday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to a person familiar with planning who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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Modi is co-hosting the summit with Macron in an effort to prevent the sector from becoming a U.S.-China battle.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stressed the need for equitable access to AI to avoid “perpetuating a digital divide that is already existing across the world.”
But the U.S.-China rivalry overshadowed broader international talks.
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The U.S.-China rivalry didn’t entirely overshadow the talks. At least one Chinese former diplomat chose to make her presence felt by chastising a Canadian academic according to a February 11, 2025 article by Matthew Broersma for silicon.co.uk
A representative of China at this week’s AI Action Summit in Paris stressed the importance of collaboration on artificial intelligence, while engaging in a testy exchange with Yoshua Bengio, a Canadian academic considered one of the “Godfathers” of AI.
Fu Ying, a former Chinese government official and now an academic at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said the name of China’s official AI Development and Safety Network was intended to emphasise the importance of collaboration to manage the risks around AI.
She also said tensions between the US and China were impeding the ability to develop AI safely.
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… Fu Ying, a former vice minister of foreign affairs in China and the country’s former UK ambassador, took veiled jabs at Prof Bengio, who was also a member of the panel.
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Zoe Kleinman’s February 10, 2025 article for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) news online website also notes the encounter,
A former Chinese official poked fun at a major international AI safety report led by “AI Godfather” professor Yoshua Bengio and co-authored by 96 global experts – in front of him.
Fu Ying, former vice minister of foreign affairs and once China’s UK ambassador, is now an academic at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
The pair were speaking at a panel discussion ahead of a two-day global AI summit starting in Paris on Monday [February 10, 2025].
The aim of the summit is to unite world leaders, tech executives, and academics to examine AI’s impact on society, governance, and the environment.
Fu Ying began by thanking Canada’s Prof Bengio for the “very, very long” document, adding that the Chinese translation stretched to around 400 pages and she hadn’t finished reading it.
She also had a dig at the title of the AI Safety Institute – of which Prof Bengio is a member.
China now has its own equivalent; but they decided to call it The AI Development and Safety Network, she said, because there are lots of institutes already but this wording emphasised the importance of collaboration.
The AI Action Summit is welcoming guests from 80 countries, with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, Microsoft president Brad Smith and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai among the big names in US tech attending.
Elon Musk is not on the guest list but it is currently unknown whether he will decide to join them. [As of February 13, 2025, Mr. Musk did not attend the summit, which ended February 11, 2025.]
A key focus is regulating AI in an increasingly fractured world. The summit comes weeks after a seismic industry shift as China’s DeepSeek unveiled a powerful, low-cost AI model, challenging US dominance.
The pair’s heated exchanges were a symbol of global political jostling in the powerful AI arms race, but Fu Ying also expressed regret about the negative impact of current hostilities between the US and China on the progress of AI safety.
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She gave a carefully-crafted glimpse behind the curtain of China’s AI scene, describing an “explosive period” of innovation since the country first published its AI development plan in 2017, five years before ChatGPT became a viral sensation in the west.
She added that “when the pace [of development] is rapid, risky stuff occurs” but did not elaborate on what might have taken place.
“The Chinese move faster [than the west] but it’s full of problems,” she said.
Fu Ying argued that building AI tools on foundations which are open source, meaning everyone can see how they work and therefore contribute to improving them, was the most effective way to make sure the tech did not cause harm.
Most of the US tech giants do not share the tech which drives their products.
Open source offers humans “better opportunities to detect and solve problems”, she said, adding that “the lack of transparency among the giants makes people nervous”.
But Prof Bengio disagreed.
His view was that open source also left the tech wide open for criminals to misuse.
He did however concede that “from a safety point of view”, it was easier to spot issues with the viral Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek, which was built using open source architecture, than ChatGPT, whose code has not been shared by its creator OpenAI.
Announced in November 2023 at the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, England, and inspired by the workings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the report consolidates leading international expertise on AI and its risks.
Supported by the United Kingdom’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Bengio, founder and scientific director of the UdeM-affiliated Mila – Quebec AI Institute, led a team of 96 international experts in drafting the report.
The experts were drawn from 30 countries, the U.N., the European Union and the OECD [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development]. Their report will help inform discussions next month at the AI Action Summit in Paris, France and serve as a global handbook on AI safety to help support policymakers.
Towards a common understanding
The most advanced AI systems in the world now have the ability to write increasingly sophisticated computer programs, identify cyber vulnerabilities, and perform on a par with human PhD-level experts on tests in biology, chemistry, and physics.
In what is identified as a key development for policymakers to monitor, the AI Safety Report published today warns that AI systems are also increasingly capable of acting as AI agents, autonomously planning and acting in pursuit of a goal.
As policymakers worldwide grapple with the rapid and unpredictable advancements in AI, the report contributes to bridging the gap by offering a scientific understanding of emerging risks to guide decision-making.
The document sets out the first comprehensive, independent, and shared scientific understanding of advanced AI systems and their risks, highlighting how quickly the technology has evolved.
Several areas require urgent research attention, according to the report, including how rapidly capabilities will advance, how general-purpose AI models work internally, and how they can be designed to behave reliably.
Three distinct categories of AI risks are identified:
Malicious use risks: these include cyberattacks, the creation of AI-generated child-sexual-abuse material, and even the development of biological weapons;
System malfunctions: these include bias, reliability issues, and the potential loss of control over advanced general-purpose AI systems;
Systemic risks: these stem from the widespread adoption of AI, include workforce disruption, privacy concerns, and environmental impacts.
The report places particular emphasis on the urgency of increasing transparency and understanding in AI decision-making as the systems become more sophisticated and the technology continues to develop at a rapid pace.
While there are still many challenges in mitigating the risks of general-purpose AI, the report highlights promising areas for future research and concludes that progress can be made.
Ultimately, it emphasizes that while AI capabilities could advance at varying speeds, their development and potential risks are not a foregone conclusion. The outcomes depend on the choices that societies and governments make today and in the future.
“The capabilities of general-purpose AI have increased rapidly in recent years and months,” said Bengio. “While this holds great potential for society, AI also presents significant risks that must be carefully managed by governments worldwide.
“This report by independent experts aims to facilitate constructive and evidence-based discussion around these risks and serves as a common basis for policymakers around the world to understand general-purpose AI capabilities, risks and possible mitigations.”
There have been two previous AI Safety Summits that I’m aware of and you can read about them in my May 21, 2024 posting about the one in Korea and in my November 2, 2023 posting about the first summit at Bletchley Park in the UK.
I was taught in high school that the US was running out of its resources and that Canada still had much of its resources. That was decades ago. As well, throughout the years, usually during a vote in Québec about separating, I’ve heard rumblings about the US absorbing part or all of Canada as something they call ‘Manifest Destiny,’ which dates back to the 19th century.
Unlike the previous forays Into Manifest Destiny, this one has not been precipitated by any discussion of separation.
Manifest Destiny
It took a while for that phrase to emerge this time but when it finally did the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) online news published a January 19, 2025 article by Ainsley Hawthorn providing some context for the term, Note: Links have been removed,
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump says he’s prepared to use economic force to turn Canada into America’s 51st state, and it’s making Canadians — two-thirds of whom believe he’s sincere — anxious.
But the last time Canada faced the threat of American annexation, it united us more than ever before, leading to the foundation of our country as we know it today.
In the 1860s, several prominent U.S. politicians advocated for annexing the colonies of British North America.
“I look on Rupert’s Land [modern-day Manitoba and parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, Ontario, and Quebec] and Canada, and see how an ingenious people and a capable, enlightened government are occupied with bridging rivers and making railroads and telegraphs,” Secretary of State William Henry Seward told a crowd in St. Paul, Minn. while campaigning on behalf of presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln.
“I am able to say, it is very well; you are building excellent states to be hereafter admitted into the American Union.”
Seward believed in Manifest Destiny, the doctrine that the United States would inevitably expand across the entire North American continent. While he seems to have preferred to acquire territory through negotiation rather than aggression, Canadians weren’t wholly assured of America’s peaceful intentions.
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In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Canadian parliament had been so deadlocked it had practically come to a standstill. Within just a few years, American pressure created a sense of unity so great it led to Confederation.
The current conversation around annexation is likewise uniting Canada’s leaders to a degree we’ve rarely seen in recent years.
Representatives across the political spectrum are sharing a common message, the same message as British North Americans in the late nineteenth century: despite our problems, Canadians value Canada.
Critical minerals and water
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a few comments to make about US President Donald Trump’s motivation for ‘absorbing’ Canada as the 51st state, from a February 7, 2025 CBC news online article by Peter Zimonjic, ·
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told business leaders at the Canada-U.S. Economic Summit in Toronto that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Canada “is a real thing” motivated by his desire to tap into the country’s critical minerals.
“Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing,” Trudeau said, before a microphone cut out at the start of the closed-door meeting.
The prime minister made the remarks to more than 100 business leaders after delivering an opening address to the summit Friday morning [February 7, 2025], outlining the key issues facing the country when it comes to Canada’s trading relationship with the U.S.
After the opening address, media were ushered out of the room when a microphone that was left on picked up what was only meant to be heard by attendees [emphasis mine].
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Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association president Flavio Volpe was in the room when Trudeau made the comments. He said the prime minister went on to say that Trump is driven because the U.S. could benefit from Canada’s critical mineral resources.
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There was more, from a February 7, 2025 article by Nick Taylor-Vaisey for Politico., Note: A link has been removed,
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In remarks caught on tape by The Toronto Star, Trudeau suggested the president is keenly aware of Canada’s vast mineral resources. “I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” Trudeau said.
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All of this reminded me of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Canada and his interest in critical minerals which I mentioned briefly in my comments about the 2023 federal budget, from my April 17, 2023 posting (scroll down to the ‘Canadian economic theory (the staples theory), mining, nuclear energy, quantum science, and more’ subhead,
Critical minerals are getting a lot of attention these days. (They were featured in the 2022 budget, see my April 19, 2022 posting, scroll down to the Mining subhead.) This year, US President Joe Biden, in his first visit to Canada as President, singled out critical minerals at the end of his 28 hour state visit (from a March 24, 2023 CBC news online article by Alexander Panetta; Note: Links have been removed),
There was a pot of gold at the end of President Joe Biden’s jaunt to Canada. It’s going to Canada’s mining sector.
The U.S. military will deliver funds this spring to critical minerals projects in both the U.S. and Canada. The goal is to accelerate the development of a critical minerals industry on this continent.
The context is the United States’ intensifying rivalry with China.
The U.S. is desperate to reduce its reliance on its adversary for materials needed to power electric vehicles, electronics and many other products, and has set aside hundreds of millions of dollars under a program called the Defence Production Act.
The Pentagon already has told Canadian companies they would be eligible to apply. It has said the cash would arrive as grants, not loans.
On Friday [March 24, 2023], before Biden left Ottawa, he promised they’ll get some.
The White House and the Prime Minister’s Office announced that companies from both countries will be eligible this spring for money from a $250 million US fund.
Which Canadian companies? The leaders didn’t say. Canadian officials have provided the U.S. with a list of at least 70 projects that could warrant U.S. funding.
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“Our nations are blessed with incredible natural resources,” Biden told Canadian parliamentarians during his speech in the House of Commons.
“Canada in particular has large quantities of critical minerals [emphasis mine] that are essential for our clean energy future, for the world’s clean energy future.
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I don’t think there’s any question that the US knows how much, where, and how easily ‘extractable’ Canadian critical minerals might be.
Pressure builds
On the same day (Monday, February 3, 2025) the tariffs were postponed for a month,Trudeau had two telephone calls with US president Donald Trump. According to a February 9, 2025 article by Steve Chase and Stefanie Marotta for the Globe and Mail, Trump and his minions are exploring the possibility of acquiring Canada by means other than a trade war or economic domination,
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“He [Trudeau] talked about two phone conversations he had with Mr. Trump on Monday [February 3, 2025] before the President agreed to delay to steep tariffs on Canadian goods for 30 days.n
During the calls, the Prime Minister recalled Mr. Trump referred to a four-page memo that included a list of grievances he had with Canadian trade and commercial rules, including the President’s false claim that US banks are unable to operate in Canada. …
In the second conversation with Mr. Trump on Monday, the Prime Minister told the summit, the President asked him whether he was familiar with the Treaty of 1908, a pact between the United States and Britain that defined the border between the United States and Canada. he told Mr. Trudeau, he should look it up.
Mr. Trudeau told the summit he thought the treaty had been superseded by other developments such as the repatriation the Canadian Constitution – in other words, that the border cannot be dissolved by repealing that treaty. He told the audience that international law would prevent the dissolution 1908 Treaty leading to the erasure of the border. For example, various international laws define sovereign borders, including the United Nationals Charter of which both countries are signatories and which has protection to territorial integrity.
A source familiar with the calls said Mr. Trump’s reference to the 1908 Treaty was taken as an implied threat. … [p. A3 in paper version]
I imagine Mr. Trump and/or his minions will keep trying to find one pretext or another for this attempt to absorb or annex or wage war (economically or otherwise) on Canada.
What makes Canadian (and Greenlandic) minerals and water so important?
You may have noticed the January 21, 2025 announcement by Mr. Trump about the ‘Stargate Project,’ a proposed US $500B AI infrastructure company (you can find more about the Stargate Project (Stargate LLC) in its Wikipedia entry).
Most likely not a coincidence, on February 10, 2025 President of France, Emmanuel Macron announced a 109B euros investment in French AI sector, from the February 9, 2025 Reuters preannouncement article,
France will announce private sector investments totalling some 109 billion euros ($112.5 billion [US]) in its artificial intelligence sector during the Paris AI summit which opens on Monday, President Emmanuel Macron said.
The financing includes plans by Canadian investment firm [emphasis mine] Brookfield to invest 20 billion euros in AI projects in France and financing from the United Arab Emirates which could hit 50 billion euros in the years ahead, Macron’s office said.
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Big projects, non? It’s no surprise critical minerals will be necessary but the need for massive amounts of water may be. My October 16, 2023 posting focuses on water and AI development, specifically ChatGPT-4,
A September 9, 2023 news item (an Associated Press article by Matt O’Brien and Hannah Fingerhut) on phys.org and also published September 12, 2023 on the Iowa Public Radio website, describe an unexpected cost for building ChatGPT and other AI agents, Note: Links [in the excerpt] have been removed,
The cost of building an artificial intelligence product like ChatGPT can be hard to measure.
But one thing Microsoft-backed OpenAI needed for its technology was plenty of water [emphases mine], pulled from the watershed of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers in central Iowa to cool a powerful supercomputer as it helped teach its AI systems how to mimic human writing.
As they race to capitalize on a craze for generative AI, leading tech developers including Microsoft, OpenAI and Google have acknowledged that growing demand for their AI tools carries hefty costs, from expensive semiconductors to an increase in water consumption.
But they’re often secretive about the specifics. Few people in Iowa knew about its status as a birthplace of OpenAI’s most advanced large language model, GPT-4, before a top Microsoft executive said in a speech it “was literally made next to cornfields west of Des Moines.”
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In its latest environmental report, Microsoft disclosed that its global water consumption spiked 34% from 2021 to 2022 (to nearly 1.7 billion gallons , or more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools), a sharp increase compared to previous years that outside researchers tie to its AI research. [emphases mine]
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As for how much water was diverted in Iowa for a data centre project, from my October 16, 2023 posting
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Jason Clayworth’s September 18, 2023 article for AXIOS describes the issue from the Iowan perspective, Note: Links [from the excerpt] have been removed,
Future data center projects in West Des Moines will only be considered if Microsoft can implement technology that can “significantly reduce peak water usage,” the Associated Press reports.
Why it matters: Microsoft’s five WDM data centers — the “epicenter for advancing AI” — represent more than $5 billion in investments in the last 15 years.
Yes, but: They consumed as much as 11.5 million gallons of water a month for cooling, or about 6% of WDM’s total usage during peak summer usage during the last two years, according to information from West Des Moines Water Works.
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The bottom line is that these technologies consume a lot of water and require critical minerals.
Greenland
Evan Dyer’s January 16, 2025 article for CBC news online describes both US military strategic interests and hunger for resources, Note 1: Article links have been removed; Note 2: I have added one link to a Wikipedia entry,
The person who first put a bug in Donald Trump’s ear about Greenland — if a 2022 biography is to be believed — was his friend Ronald Lauder, a New York billionaire and heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics fortune.
But it would be wrong to believe that U.S. interest in Greenland originated with idle chatter at the country club, rather than real strategic considerations.
Trump’s talk of using force to annex Greenland — which would be an unprovoked act of war against a NATO ally — has been rebuked by Greenlandic, Danish and European leaders. A Fox News team that travelled to Greenland’s capital Nuuk reported back to the Trump-friendly show Fox & Friends that “most of the people we spoke with did not support Trump’s comments and found them offensive.”
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Certainly, military considerations motivated the last U.S. attempt at buying Greenland in 1946.
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The military value to the U.S. of acquiring Greenland is much less clear in 2025 than it was in 1946.
Russian nuclear submarines no longer need to traverse the GIUK [the GIUK gap; “{sometimes written G-I-UK} is an area in the northern Atlantic Ocean that forms a naval choke point. Its name is an acronym for Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom, the gap being the two stretches of open ocean among these three landmasses.”]. They can launch their missiles from closer to home.
And in any case, the U.S. already has a military presence on Greenland, used for early warning, satellite tracking and marine surveillance. The Pentagon simply ignored Denmark’s 1957 ban on nuclear weapons on Greenlandic territory. Indeed, an American B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs crashed in Greenland in 1968.
“The U.S. already has almost unhindered access [emphasis mine], and just building on their relationship with Greenland is going to do far more good than talk of acquisition,” said Dwayne Menezes, director of the Polar Research and Policy Initiative in London.
The complication, he says, is Greenland’s own independence movement. All existing defence agreements involving the U.S. presence in Greenland are between Washington and the Kingdom of Denmark. [emphasis mine]
“They can’t control what’s happening between Denmark and Greenland,” Menezes said. “Over the long term, the only way to mitigate that risk altogether is by acquiring Greenland.”
Menezes also doesn’t believe U.S. interest in Greenland is purely military.
And Trump’s incoming national security adviser Michael Waltz [emphasis mine] appeared to confirm as much when asked by Fox News why the administration wanted Greenland.
“This is about critical minerals, this is about natural resources [emphasis mine]. This is about, as the ice caps pull back, the Chinese are now cranking out icebreakers and are pushing up there.”
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While the United States has an abundance of natural resources, it risks coming up short in two vital areas: rare-earth minerals and freshwater.
Greenland’s apparent barrenness belies its richness in those two key 21st-century resources.
The U.S. rise to superpower was driven partly by the good fortune of having abundant reserves of oil, which fuelled its industrial growth. The country is still a net exporter of petroleum.
China, Washington’s chief strategic rival, had no such luck. It has to import more than two-thirds of its oil, and is now importing more than six times as much as it did in 2000.
But the future may not favour the U.S. as much as the past.
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I stand corrected, where oil is concerned. From Dyer’s January 16, 2025 article, Note: Links have been removed,
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It’s China, and not the U.S., that nature blessed with rich deposits of rare-earth elements, a collection of 17 metals such as yttrium and scandium that are increasingly necessary for high-tech applications from cellphones and flat-screen TVs to electric cars.
The rare-earth element neodymium is an essential part of many computer hard drives and defence systems including electronic displays, guidance systems, lasers, radar and sonar.
Three decades ago, the U.S. produced a third of the world’s rare-earth elements, and China about 40 per cent. By 2011, China had 97 per cent of world production, and its government was increasingly limiting and controlling exports.
The U.S. has responded by opening new mines and spurring recovery and recycling to reduce dependence on China.
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Such efforts have allowed the U.S. to claw back about 20 per cent of the world’s annual production of rare-earth elements. But that doesn’t change the fact that China has about 44 million tonnes of reserves, compared to fewer than two million in the U.S.
“There’s a huge dependency on China,” said Menezes. “It offers China the economic leverage, in the midst of a trade war in particular, to restrict supply to the West, thus crippling industries like defence, the green transition. This is where Greenland comes in.”
Greenland’s known reserves are almost equivalent to those of the entire U.S., and much more may lie beneath its icebound landscape.
“Greenland is believed to be able to meet at least 25 per cent of global rare-earth demand well into the future,” he said.
An abundance of freshwater
The melting ice caps referenced by Trump’s nominee for national security adviser are another Greenlandic resource the world is increasingly interested in.
Seventy per cent of the world’s freshwater is locked up in the Antarctic ice cap. Of the remainder, two-thirds is in Greenland, in a massive ice cap that is turning to liquid at nearly twice the volume of melting in Antarctica.
“We know this because you can weigh the ice sheet from satellites,” said Christian Schoof, a professor of Earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences at the University of British Columbia who spent part of last year in Greenland studying ice cap melting.
“The ice sheet is heavy enough that it affects the orbit of satellites going over it. And you can record the change in that acceleration of satellites due to the ice sheet over time, and directly weigh the ice sheet.”
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“There is a growing demand for freshwater on the world market, and the use of the vast water potential in Greenland may contribute to meeting this demand,” the Greenland government announces on its website.
The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland found 10 locations that were suitable for the commercial exploitation of Greenland’s ice and water, and has already issued a number of licenses.
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Schoof told CBC News that past projects that attempted to tow Greenlandic ice to irrigate farms in the Middle East “haven’t really taken off … but humans are resourceful and inventive, and we face some really significant issues in the future.”
For the U.S., those issues include the 22-year-long “megadrought” which has left the western U.S. [emphases mine] drier than at any time in the past 1,200 years, and which is already threatening the future of some American cities.
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As important as they are, there’s more than critical minerals and water, according to Dyer’s January 16, 2025 article
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Even the “rock flour” that lies under the ice cap could have great commercial and strategic importance.
Ground into nanoparticles by the crushing weight of the ice, research has revealed it to have almost miraculous properties, says Menezes.
“Scientists have found that Greenlandic glacial flour has a particular nutrient composition that enables it to be regenerative of soil conditions elsewhere,” he told CBC News. “It improves agricultural yields. It has direct implications for food security.”
Spreading Greenland rock flour on corn fields in Ghana produced a 30 to 50 per cent increase in crop yields. Similar yield gains occurred when it was spread on Danish fields that produce the barley for Carlsberg beer.
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Canada
It’s getting a little tiring keeping up with Mr. Trump’s tariff tear (using ‘tear’ as a verbal noun; from the Cambridge dictionary, verb: TEAR definition: 1. to pull or be pulled apart, or to pull pieces off: 2. to move very quickly …).
The bottom line is that Mr. Trump wants something and certainly Canadian critical minerals and water constitute either his entire interest or, at least, his main interest for now, with more to be determined later.
Niall McGee’s February 9, 2025 article for the Globe and Mail provides an overview of the US’s dependence on Canada’s critical minerals,
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The US relies on Canada for a huge swath of its critical mineral imports, including 40 per cent of its primary nickel for its defence industry, 30 per cent of its uranium, which is used in its nuclear-power fleet, and 79 per cent of its potash for growing crops.
The US produces only small amounts of all three, while Canada is the world’s biggest potash producer, the second biggest in uranium, and number six in nickel.
If the US wants to buy fewer critical minerals from Canada, in many cases it would be forced to source them from hostile countries such as Russia and China.
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Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. is one of the few North American suppliers of germanium. The critical mineral is used in fibre-optic networks, infrared vision systems, solar panels. The US relies on Canada for 23 per cent of its imports of germanium.
China in December [2024] banned exports of the critical mineral to the US citing national security concerns. The ban raised fears of possible shortages for the US.
“It’s obvious we have a lot of what Trump wants to support America’s ambitions, from both an economic and a geopolitical standpoint,” says Martin Turenne, CEO of Vancouver-based FPX Nickel Corp., which is developing a massive nickel project in British Columbia. [p. B5 paper version]
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Akshay Kulkarni’s January 15, 2025 article for CBC news online provides more details about British Columbia and its critical minerals, Note: Links have been removed,
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The premier had suggested Tuesday [January 14, 2025] that retaliatory tariffs and export bans could be part of the response, and cited a smelter operation located in Trail, B.C. [emphasis mine; keep reading], which exports minerals that Eby [Premier of British Columbia, David Eby] said are critical for the U.S.
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The U.S. and Canada both maintain lists of critical minerals — ranging from aluminum and tin to more obscure elements like ytterbium and hafnium — that both countries say are important for defence, energy production and other key areas.
Michael Goehring, the president of the Mining Association of B.C., said B.C. has access to or produces 16 of the 50 minerals considered critical by the U.S.
Individual atoms of silicon and germanium are seen following an Atomic Probe Tomography (APT) measurement at Polytechnique Montreal. Both minerals are manufactured in B.C. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)
“We have 17 critical mineral projects on the horizon right now, along with a number of precious metal projects,” he told CBC News on Tuesday [January 14, 2025].
“The 17 critical mineral projects alone represent some $32 billion in potential investment for British Columbia,” he added.
John Steen, director of the Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining at the University of B.C., pointed to germanium — which is manufactured at Teck’s facility in Trail [emphasis mine] — as one of the materials most important to U.S industry.
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There are a number of mines and manufacturing facilities across B.C. and Canada for critical minerals.
The B.C. government says the province is Canada’s largest producer of copper, and only producer of molybdenum, which are both considered critical minerals.
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There’s also graphite, not in BC but in Québec. This April 8, 2023 article by Christian Paas-Lang for CBC news online focuses largely on issues of how to access and exploit graphite and also, importantly, indigenous concerns, but this excerpt focuses on graphite as a critical mineral,
A mining project might not be what comes to mind when you think of the transition to a lower emissions economy. But embedded in electric vehicles, solar panels and hydrogen fuel storage are metals and minerals that come from mines like the one in Lac-des-Îles, Que.
The graphite mine, owned by the company Northern Graphite, is just one of many projects aimed at extracting what are now officially dubbed “critical minerals” — substances of significant strategic and economic importance to the future of national economies.
Lac-des-Îles is the only significant graphite mining project in North America, accounting for Canada’s contribution to an industry dominated by China.
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There was another proposed graphite mine in Québec, which encountered significant push back from the local Indigenous community as noted in my November 26, 2024 posting, “Local resistance to Lomiko Metals’ Outaouais graphite mine.” The posting also provides a very brief update of graphite mining in Canada.
It seems to me that water does not get the attention that it should and that’s why I lead with water in my headline. Eric Reguly’s February 9, 2025 article in the Globe and Mail highlights some of the water issues facing the US, not just Iowa,
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Water may be the real reason, or one of the top reasons, propelling his [Mr. Trump’s] desire to turn Canada into Minnesota North. Canadians represent 0.5 per cent of the globe’s population yet sit on 20% or more of its fresh water. Vast tracts of the United States routinely suffer from water shortages, which are drying up rivers – the once mighty Colorado River no longer reaches the Pacific Ocean – shrinking aquifers beneath farmland and preventing water-intensive industries from building factories. Warming average temperatures will intensify the shortages. [p. B2 in paper version]
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Reguly is more interested in the impact water shortages have on industry. He also offers a brief history of US interest in acquiring Canadian water resources dating back to the first North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that came into effect on January 1, 1994.
A March 6, 2024 article by Elia Nilsen for CNN television news online details Colorado river geography and gives you a sense of just how serious the situation is, Note: Links have been removed,
Seven Western states are starting to plot a future for how much water they’ll draw from the dwindling Colorado River in a warmer, drier world.
The river is the lifeblood for the West – providing drinking water for tens of millions, irrigating crops, and powering homes and industry with hydroelectric dams.
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This has bought states more time to figure out how to divvy up the river after 2026, when the current operating guidelines expire.
To that end, the four upper basin river states of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming submitted their proposal for how future cuts should be divvied up among the seven states to the federal government on Tuesday [March 5, 2024], and the three lower basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada submitted their plan on Wednesday [March 6, 2024].
One thing is clear from the competing plans: The two groups of states do not agree so far on who should bear the brunt of future cuts if water levels drop in the Colorado River basin.
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As of a December 12, 2024 article by Shannon Mullane for watereducationcolorado.org, the states are still wrangling and they are not the only interested parties, Note: A link has been removed,
… officials from seven states are debating the terms of a new agreement for how to store, release and deliver Colorado River water for years to come, and they have until 2026 to finalize a plan. This month, the tone of the state negotiations soured as some state negotiators threw barbs and others called for an end to the political rhetoric and saber-rattling.
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The state negotiators are not the only players at the table: Tribal leaders, federal officials, environmental organizations, agricultural groups, cities, industrial interests and others are weighing in on the process.
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Water use from the Colorado river has international implications as this February 5, 2025 essay (Water is the other US-Mexico border crisis, and the supply crunch is getting worse) by Gabriel Eckstein, professor of law at Texas A&M University and Rosario Sanchez, senior research scientist at Texas Water Resources Institute and at Texas A&M University for The Conversation makes clear, Note: Links have been removed,
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The Colorado River provides water to more than 44 million people, including seven U.S. and two Mexican states, 29 Indian tribes and 5.5 million acres of farmland. Only about 10% of its total flow reaches Mexico. The river once emptied into the Gulf of California, but now so much water is withdrawn along its course that since the 1960s it typically peters out in the desert.
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At least 28 aquifers – underground rock formations that contain water – also traverse the border. With a few exceptions, very little information on these shared resources exists. One thing that is known is that many of them are severely overtapped and contaminated.
Nonetheless, reliance on aquifers is growing as surface water supplies dwindle. Some 80% of groundwater used in the border region goes to agriculture. The rest is used by farmers and industries, such as automotive and appliance manufacturers.
Over 10 million people in 30 cities and communities throughout the border region rely on groundwater for domestic use. Many communities, including Ciudad Juarez; the sister cities of Nogales in both Arizona and Sonora; and the sister cities of Columbus in New Mexico and Puerto Palomas in Chihuahua, get all or most of their fresh water from these aquifers.
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A booming region
About 30 million people live within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the border on both sides. Over the next 30 years, that figure is expected to double.
Municipal and industrial water use throughout the region is also expected to increase. In Texas’ lower Rio Grande Valley, municipal use alone could more than double by 2040.
At the same time, as climate change continues to worsen, scientists project that snowmelt will decrease and evaporation rates will increase. The Colorado River’s baseflow – the portion of its volume that comes from groundwater, rather than from rain and snow – may decline by nearly 30% in the next 30 years.
Precipitation patterns across the region are projected to be uncertain and erratic for the foreseeable future. This trend will fuel more extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, which could cause widespread harm to crops, industrial activity, human health and the environment.
Further stress comes from growth and development. Both the Colorado River and Rio Grande are tainted by pollutants from agricultural, municipal and industrial sources. Cities on both sides of the border, especially on the Mexican side, have a long history of dumping untreated sewage into the Rio Grande. Of the 55 water treatment plants located along the border, 80% reported ongoing maintenance, capacity and operating problems as of 2019.
Drought across the border region is already stoking domestic and bilateral tensions. Competing water users are struggling to meet their needs, and the U.S. and Mexico are straining to comply with treaty obligations for sharing water [emphasis mine].
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Getting back to Canada and water, Reguly’s February 9, 2025 article notes Mr. Trump’s attitude towards our water,
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Mr. Trump’s transaction-oriented brain know that water availability translates into job availability. If Canada were forced to export water by bulk to the United States, Canada would in effect be exporting jobs and America absorbing them. In the fall [2024] when he was campaigning, he called British Columbia “essentially a very large faucet” [emphasis mine] that could be used to overcome California’s permanent water deficit.
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In Canada’s favour, Canadians have been united in their opposition to bulk water exports. That sentiment is codified in the Transboundary Waters Protection Act, which bans large scale removal from waterways shared with the United States. … [p. B2 in paper version]
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It’s reassuring to read that we have some rules regarding water removal but British Columbia also has a water treaty with the US, the Columbia River Treaty, and an update to it lingers in limbo as Kirk Lapointe notes in his February 6, 2025 article for vancouverisawesome.com. Lapointe mentions shortcomings on both sides of the negotiating table for the delay in ratifying the update while expressing concern over Mr. Trump’s possible machinations should this matter cross his radar.
What about Ukraine’s critical mineral?
A February 13, 2025 article by Geoff Nixon for CBC news online provides some of the latest news on the situation between the US and the Ukraine, Note: Links have been removed,
Ukraine has clearly grabbed the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump with its apparent willingness to share access to rare-earth resources with Washington, in exchange for its continued support and security guarantees.
Trump wants what he calls “equalization” for support the U.S. has provided to Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion. And he wants this payment in the form of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, metals “and other things,” as the U.S. leader put it last week.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has travelled to Ukraine to discuss the proposition, which was first raised with Trump last fall [2024], telling reporters Wednesday [February 12, 2025] that he hoped a deal could be reached within days.
Bessent says such a deal could provide a “security shield” in post-war Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said in his daily address that it would both strengthen Ukraine’s security and “give new momentum to our economic relations.”
But just how much trust can Kyiv put in a Trump-led White House to provide support to Ukraine, now and in the future? Ukraine may not be in a position to back away from the offer, with Trump’s interest piqued and U.S. support remaining critical for Kyiv after nearly three years of all-out war with Russia.
“I think the problem for Ukraine is that it doesn’t really have much choice,” said Oxana Shevel, an associate professor of political science at Boston’s Tufts University.
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Then there’s the issue of the Ukrainian minerals, which have to remain in Kyiv’s hands in order for the U.S. to access them — a point Zelenskyy and other Ukraine officials have underlined.
There are more than a dozen elements considered to be rare earths, and Ukraine’s Institute of Geology says those that can be found in Ukraine include lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, erbium and yttrium. EU-funded research also indicates that Ukraine has scandium reserves. But the details of the data are classified.
Rare earths are used in manufacturing magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, in cellphones and other electronics, as well as for scientific and industrial applications.
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Trump has said he wants the equivalent of $500 billion US in rare earth minerals.
Yuriy Gorodnichenko, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, says any effort to develop and extract these resources won’t happen overnight and it’s unclear how plentiful they are.
“The fact is, nobody knows how much you have for sure there and what is the value of that,” he said in an interview.
“It will take years to do geological studies,” he said. “Years to build extraction facilities.”
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Just how desperate is the US?
Yes, the United States has oil but it doesn’t have much in the way of materials it needs for the new technologies and it’s running out of something very basic: water.
I don’t know how desperate the US is but Mr. Trump’s flailings suggest that the answer is very, very desperate.
It seems there’s a big international race to develop quantum technologies. Artificial intelligence and space exploration may get more publicity but quantum technologies appear to be rapidly reaching a point at which they will achieve the same level of public interest and recognition. (Or not, I’m not always successful with my predictions.) Meanwhile, interested Canadian science policy wonks can read the Council of Canadian Academies’ (CCA) report, Quantum Potential.
Usually, I would launch into a commentary about the report (which I should have gotten to months ago when it came out in November 2023) but first, the expert panel and, by extension, Canada’s quantum scene, which continues to fascinate me. Aside from a few miscellaneous comments at the end of part one, the great bulk of the report commentary is in part two [link to be added when part two published].
Canada’s quantum scene and the CCA’s expert panel
Things have changed since I first mentioned the then upcoming report on quantum technologies from the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA). There was a report title change and some personnel changes on the expert panel (for my original announcement, see the July 26, 2022 posting (scroll down to the “Quantum Technologies and the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA)” subhead).
Change #1
The Expert Panel on Quantum Technologies is now called the Expert Panel on the Responsible Adoption of Quantum Technologies. Second, Stephanie Simmons who was announced as a member of the expert panel is not listed as such in the report published November 2023. Instead she is listed on p. 12 in the PDF version or p. xii in the paper version as a peer reviewer. Between May 2022 when she was announced as a member of the expert panel and January 2023, she was appointed as co-chair of Canada’s new National Quantum Strategy. Here’s more from the Simon Fraser University (SFU) January 13, 2023 news release, Note 1: Simmons is still listed there as a member of the expert panel with its previous name. Note 2: Links have been removed,
SFU physicist Stephanie Simmons will help steer Canada’s new National Quantum Strategy as co-chair of its advisory council. The strategy, launched today by the federal government and supported by a $360 million commitment, will help shape the future of quantum technologies in Canada.
Simmons, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Silicon Quantum Technologies at SFU and is also founder and chief quantum officer at Photonic, will co-chair the council with physics and astronomy professor Raymond Laflamme, founding director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo.
The role will mean working with top officials and experts in Canada and abroad to strengthen Canadian research, talent and commercialization.
The national strategy aims to reinforce Canada as a world leader in the continued development of technologies, including support for Canadian developers and early adopters of new quantum sensing technologies, and equipping the country with a secure quantum communications network and post-quantum cryptography capabilities.
The field of quantum technology is considered key to fueling Canada’s economy, long-term resilience and growth, especially as technologies mature and more sectors harness quantum capabilities.
Last fall, Simmons was recognized with a prestigious Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship, one of only six awarded nationally. The $250,000 fellowship is awarded by NSERC to academic researchers who focus on the natural sciences and engineering, to support their research as they become leaders in their fields.
Simmons works collaboratively with the Quantum Algorithms Institute (QAI), hosted at SFU’s Surrey campus. She was also recently appointed to the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Quantum Technologies.
Strategy will see major investments in quantum research, talent and commercialization
January 13, 2023 – Waterloo, Ontario
Quantum science and technologies are at the leading edge of research and innovation, with enormous potential for commercialization and game-changing advances, including more effective drug design, better climate forecasting, improved navigation and innovations in clean technologies. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the continued growth of this emerging sector as it helps drive Canada’s economy and supports highly skilled, well-paying jobs.
Today [January 13, 2023], the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the launch of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy, which will shape the future of quantum technologies in Canada and help create thousands of jobs. Backed by an investment of $360 million committed in Budget 2021, the strategy will amplify Canada’s existing global leadership in quantum research and grow Canada’s quantum technologies, companies and talent.
Minister Champagne was joined at the launch by Dr. Raymond Laflamme [emphasis mine], professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Canada Research Chair in Quantum Information at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, and Dr. Stephanie Simmons [emphasis mine], associate professor in the Department of Physics and Canada Research Chair in Silicon Quantum Technologies at Simon Fraser University and founder and Chief Quantum Officer of Photonic Inc. Drs. Laflamme and Simmons [emphasis mine] will serve as co-chairs of a new Quantum Advisory Council, which will provide independent expert advice on the implementation of the strategy.
The National Quantum Strategy is driven by three missions in key quantum technology areas:
Computing hardware and software—to make Canada a world leader in the continued development, deployment and use of these technologies
Communications—to equip Canada with a national secure quantum communications network and post-quantum cryptography capabilities
Sensors—to support Canadian developers and early adopters of new quantum sensing technologies
The missions will be advanced through investments in three pillars:
Research—$141 million to support basic and applied research to realize new solutions and new innovations
Talent—$45 million to develop and retain quantum expertise and talent in Canada, as well as attract experts from within Canada and around the world, to build the quantum sector
Commercialization—$169 million to translate research into scalable commercial products and services that will benefit Canadians, our industries and the world
Efforts under the strategy are already under way. To reinforce Canada’s research strengths in quantum science and help develop a talent pipeline to support the growth of a strong quantum community, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is delivering an investment of $137.9 million through its Alliance grants and Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) grants.
Mitacs will deliver $40 million to support the attraction, training, retention and deployment of highly qualified personnel in quantum science and technology through innovation internship experiences and professional skills development.
The Quantum Research and Development Initiative (QRDI), a new $9 million program coordinated and administered by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), is being established to grow collaborative, federal quantum research and development. QRDI will bring government—offering expertise and infrastructure—and academic and industrial partners together to work on advancing quantum technologies under the three missions of the National Quantum Strategy.
To help translate quantum science and research into commercial innovations that generate economic benefits and support the adoption of made-in-Canada solutions by businesses, the NRC is receiving $50 million to expand the Internet of Things: Quantum Sensors Challenge program and roll out its Applied Quantum Computing Challenge program. As well, Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters are receiving $14 million to carry out activities as part of the Commercialization pillar.
In addition, the government’s flagship strategic procurement program, Innovative Solutions Canada, is receiving $35 million over seven years to help innovative Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises grow, scale up, develop intellectual property, export and create high-value jobs in the quantum sector.
The quantum sector is key to fuelling Canada’s economy, long-term resilience and growth, especially as technologies mature and more sectors harness quantum capabilities. Jobs will span research and science; hardware and software engineering and development, including data engineering; manufacturing; technical support; sales and marketing; and business operations. The government will continue working with Canada’s quantum community to ensure the success of not only the National Quantum Strategy but also the Canadian scientists and entrepreneurs who are well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities.
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Interesting that Raymond Laflamme remained chair on the panel while Simmons shifted to becoming a peer reviewer for the report. At a guess, it was too much work to do both so they somewhat split responsibilities. He did the heavy lifting with the expert panel while she did the heavy lifting with the national strategy.
As for Canada working with the United Kingdom to develop innovative quantum products and more, I wonder why the UK in particular. I must remember to look for hints as to why, when (or possibly if I have time) in another Council of Canadian Academies report, “Navigating Collaborative Futures,” published February 14, 2024 (Valentine’s Day, eh?).
Getting back to the ISED news release, I didn’t see anything pertaining to intellectual property (IP). It seems to be an odd gap. Perhaps it’s covered in the report, which I haven’t read yet.
Change #2
Jacqueline Bartlett, Associate Professor, Tech Sector, Faculty of Business, Memorial University of Newfoundland was added to the panel.
Change #3
Jacqueline Walsh, Instructor; Director, initio Technology & Innovation Law Clinic, Dalhousie University, is not listed as a member of the expert panel in the final report.
Summing it up
Stephanie Simmons a professor of physics drops off the expert panel and so did Jacqueline Walsh, law professor, Dalhousie University while Jacqueline Bartlett, a professor of law from Memorial University becomes a member of the panel for a net loss of one. So, the person with legal credentials is effectively replaced while the physicist is not.
I don’t recall seeing any other expert panels (for previous reports I’ve reviewed) losing members. Of course, the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) has stepped up its production of reports considerably. and it’s understandable that there might be more attrition on the expert panels.
Still, I’m struggling to find a way to describe Canada’s quantum community and the best I can do is that it’s the most visibly volatile science community in the country.as observed in my July 26, 2022 posting (scroll down to the ‘Canadian quantum scene’ subhead).
Quantum technologies are poised to play a major role in Canada’s future, from its national security to its economic standing. While Canada is among the global leaders in quantum research, it nevertheless faces challenges in the adoption of these technologies as they approach market readiness. Quantum Potential, a new expert panel report from the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), outlines a responsible approach to quantum-technology adoption — a critical step toward ensuring Canada’s global competitiveness in the decades ahead.
“A century of quantum physics research propelled a technological revolution that now supports the foundations of modern society,” said Raymond Laflamme, chair of the Expert Panel on the Responsible Adoption of Quantum Technologies. “As quantum technologies emerge, it’s essential to think carefully about how policy should shape their adoption by end users — and how Canada might best navigate the accompanying challenges and opportunities.”
Quantum Potential considers quantum computing, sensing, and communications, three categories of quantum technology at varying levels of maturity. While these technologies may strengthen digital infrastructure, improve data security, and optimize processes across a range of economic sectors, they also pose significant risks, such as misuse by malicious actors. Risks associated with quantum technologies span ethical, legal, social, and policy realms; without sufficient consideration, they may compromise public trust in quantum technologies, limit research funding, and stifle innovation.
The adoption of quantum technologies in Canada may require programs designed to stimulate demand – including government procurement, pro-competition policies, and the cultivation of a quantum-ready workforce. To date, government support has encouraged the development of quantum technologies, with significantly less attention to stimulating technology diffusion and adoption.
As part of its assessment, the expert panel reviewed the Government of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy, released early this year. Quantum Potential spotlights ethical, legal, social, and policy issues posed by quantum technologies as critical considerations for their responsible adoption by public and private sectors across Canada.
“While the timeline for widespread adoption of quantum technologies may be unclear, Canada’s quantum readiness depends on our deepest consideration of the risks and benefits these technologies pose,” said Eric Meslin, President and CEO of the CCA. “Quantum Potential provides essential guidance toward a future shaped by a new wave of innovative technologies.”
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the National Research Council of Canada, and three other supporting federal departments asked the CCA to assess opportunities and challenges related to the adoption of quantum technologies in Canada. Quantum Potential explores the commercialization potential of quantum technologies, articulates Canada’s position within the global quantum value chain, and examines those conditions and policy levers that might promote their responsible adoption.
Now for the report. (Yes, I’ve now read it.) For anyone who wants to read the whole report themselves, Quantum Potential was published November 2023.
Quick overview of the international aspects (two panel members) & the questions
There was some international input in the person of two expert panel members, Elham Kashefi, Professor of Quantum Computing, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh; Chief Scientist, UK National Quantum Computing Centre; Directeur de recherche au CNRS, LIP6 Sorbonne Université (Paris, France) and Mauritz Kop, Founding Director, Stanford Center for Responsible Quantum Technology, Stanford University (Stanford, CA). Again, the main international inputs on an expert panel are from the UK (and, nominally, France) and the US.
Out of a total of 13 expert panel members, four are women. Only one is a physicist, one is a professor of quantum computing, and the other two are a professor of business and a business consultant, respectively. (It’s not great but the number of women on the expert panel seems to be a reflection of the numbers in the field. “When it comes to attracting women researchers to quantum fields in Canada, ‘there is huge competition for the relatively few female candidates in quantum technologies, but this has not necessarily translated into more women entering relevant programs of study’ [ISED, 2022d].” [p. 101 in the paper version and p. 129 in the PDF version]) As for geographical representation, that’s relatively even-handed although the far north (as almost always) is not represented. Perhaps with the founding of a university on traditional Inuit lands (see November 27, 2024 CBC story about Inuit Nunangat University), the lack of northern representation can be addressed in the future.
The peer reviewers include James Der Derian, Director/Professor, Centre for International Security Studies, University of Sydney (Sydney, Australia) and Jacob Taylor, NIST Fellow, National Institute of Standards and Technology (Cambridge, MA). This time the international scene is represented by Australia and the US (again). Swapping out someone who represents the UK (and, nominally, France) with someone representing another Commonwealth country doesn’t seem all that exciting.
It can be difficult to find people who bring in diverse perspectives. It’s human nature, people tend to recommend others in their own circles and most of us do not have diverse networks. It would be nice if the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) could break out from a pattern (of over 10 years) of US-centrie and UK/Commonwealth-centric representation. However, there’s something else that may affect attempts to get a wider range of experiences represented on the panel, current geopolitical tensions.
I have never before seen a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) acknowledgement in a CCA report,
Unnamed officials of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) [from page xiv in the print version and page 14 in the PDF version]
As for the government departments that requested the report, two are identified: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) plus three other unidentified departments (p. xv of the paper version or p. 15 of the PDF version of the report).
Executive summary
Here’s one of the better executive summaries that I’ve seen in these reports, from Quantum Potential,
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Answering the Charge
In light of current trends affecting the evolution of quantum technologies, what opportunities and challenges do these present in Canada?
Scientific and engineering obstacles currently impede the commercialization and adoption of most quantum technologies. Although existing quantum computing prototypes have scientific value and promise some computational advantage, large-scale quantum computing is unlikely to reach technological maturity in the next 10 years [emphasis mine]. Similarly, in the domain of quantum communications, quantum key distribution (QKD) needs to overcome significant limitations on distance, speed, and cost to reach the commercialization stage [emphasis mine]. In the near term, most efforts to strengthen the security of communications against decryption by quantum computers will likely prioritize classically based quantum-resistant cryptography (QRC). Among the different quantum technologies, sensors may be the closest to commercialization and adoption, but they still face a number of technical and cost-related challenges.
In light of these trends, any estimates that forecast the adoption timelines and economic benefits of quantum technologies are still speculative and can contribute to a hype narrative. While hype is not inherently bad [emphasis mine] (e.g., it can help drive research and development), a failure of quantum technologies to deliver on exaggerated or sensationalist promises could undermine public trust in innovation, reduce research funding, and deter end-users from adopting solutions that can be beneficial for their organizations. The extent to which the economic potential of commercially available quantum technologies is realized in Canada depends on the adopting sectors. Some sectors often cited as early adopters (e.g., pharmaceuticals, chemistry) make relatively small contributions to Canada’s gross domestic product [emphasis mine]. To better realize the economic potential of quantum technologies, diffusion and adoption strategies could target the applications of quantum in sectors of particular economic importance to Canada, such as natural resources and healthcare.
In addition to offering economic benefits, quantum technologies could enhance the security of infrastructure and data, improve the precision of measurements, and optimize and simulate various processes. QRC [quantum-resistant cryptography] and quantum sensors — two technologies that are closer to commercialization [emphases mine] — have applications in various sectors, including finance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. The main function of QRC (and QKD) in any sector is protecting the security of stored and transmitted data from decryption by a future quantum computer. The opportunities offered by quantum sensors, on the other hand, depend on their applications in different industries. They can be used, for example, to develop navigation systems for submarines (defence), to detect soil conditions (agriculture), to monitor the integrity of infrastructure (energy), and to detect and identify underground deposits without drilling or excavation (mining; oil and gas). The purported benefits of quantum computing lie in its ability to optimize and simulate processes and predict events [emphasis mine]. For example, quantum computers can be used to run simulations that could help researchers understand chemical reactions and design better catalysts, to optimize logistics and supply chain management in the transportation and defence sectors, and to develop more accurate predictictions [sic] and recommendations in the healthcare and finance sectors.
What are the enabling conditions to ensure broad access to and market readiness for quantum technologies in Canada?
International dependencies and the scarcity of components and materials can create bottlenecks in the path to market readiness for quantum technologies in Canada [emphasis mine]. Some raw materials (e.g., Rubidium-87, Calcium-43, Barium isotopes, Helium-3) and manufactured components required to fabricate quantum technologies (e.g., specialized nanofabrication and microfabrication techniques and materials, cryogenic devices) are scarce and can only be obtained from a handful of foreign suppliers. While a roadmapping process can help identify potential bottlenecks in the path to commercialization, the provenance of certain components or materials is unknown in some cases. International co-operation is instrumental in securing the supply chain for the production of quantum technologies in Canada. Domestic production of components used in many quantum technologies (e.g., photonics devices) could give Canadian quantum companies some leverage [emphasis mine] in global supply chains and international partnerships.
Quantum hubs encompassing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), business support services, and research institutes have emerged in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. They can rely on a number of technology transfer strategies — the sale or licensing of intellectual property, the establishment of companies, and the transfer of personnel from academia to industry — to advance the market readiness of quantum technologies. Promising technology transfer practices, however, are difficult to identify due to a lack of quantitative and qualitative data assessing their effectiveness. Moreover, clustered distribution of quantum expertise can lead to regional disparities. Some regions do not have quantum hubs and are absent from the commercialization pillar of the NQS. This can frustrate the diffusion of technologies across the country and exacerbate inequities among regions and communities.
What are the main socioeconomic, regulatory, and ethical challenges related to the adoption of quantum technologies in Canada?
The adoption of quantum technologies involves a number of interrelated ethical, legal, social, and policy implications (ELSPI). The panel analyzed these implications through an approach (Quantum ELSPI) that takes a pro-innovation stance on quantum technologies and seeks to maximize benefits and mitigate risks related to their adoption, which presents both new and familiar challenges. For example, the potential for quantum computing to decrypt frequently used encryption systems presents privacy and national security risks on a scale never seen before. Malicious actors could use quantum computers to hack personal data and compromise the security of the infrastructure underpinning important societal functions, such as healthcare, financial, and industrial systems. Even if quantum technologies are used solely for legitimate purposes, some actors may exploit the inherent scientific complexity of quantum mechanics to facilitate the spread and public acceptance of misinformation about quantum technologies. This may erode public trust, limit research funding, slow the evolution of quantum technologies, and stifle technology adoption by end-users.
Some existing social and ethical challenges will be exacerbated by quantum technologies’ ability to optimize familiar processes, including surveillance, automated decision-making, and natural resource mining. To the extent that quantum-enabled automated decision-making systems are trained on bad data, they may amplify discriminatory practices against underrepresented and racialized people and groups. Moreover, quantum-enhanced scrutiny and contextualization of information about people (also known as the process of sensemaking) can minimize privacy protections and optimize machine-learning instruments that commodify personal data. Finally, some types of quantum sensing present risks to privacy due to their ability to conduct remote searches and public surveillance. Privacy law may protect people against some forms of quantum-based surveillance, but legal reforms will be necessary to address the heightened risk of the identification of previously anonymized data (i.e., data re-identification) for the purposes of predictions, surveillance, and decision-making.
Limited access to quantum technologies can amplify the digital divide among people, regions, and countries. Big technology firms are establishing their dominance in the quantum sector, particularly in quantum computing, by acquiring smaller firms or offering quantum computing as a service. The concentration of quantum computing in the hands of only a few companies may lead to access disparities between economically advantaged and disadvantaged groups, and among users in different countries and regions of the world.
The abuse of market power by large quantum companies located in foreign jurisdictions is particularly relevant for Canada, whose economic growth relies on SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises]. Prohibitive costs and a lack of expertise prevent domestic SMEs from adopting innovative technological solutions to grow their business. Canada’s competition policy as well as various protections afforded by intellectual property law may enable major market players to achieve and maintain their dominance in the quantum sector, creating obstacles for Canadian SMEs willing to adopt quantum technologies.
A responsible approach to the adoption of quantum technologies within the framework of Quantum ELSPI consists of state-sanctioned and self-regulating measures that anticipate, prevent, and mitigate harms and risks. This approach draws on a historic analysis of policy responses to other innovations having a systemic impact on society (e.g., semiconductors, artificial intelligence, nuclear technology, nanotechnology), while recognizing the unique properties of quantum technologies. It aims to engage stakeholders, civil society, and international partners in the adoption process, and to address central aspects of that adoption, such as public perception, public trust, and regulatory gaps. Resulting measures and guardrails could include quantum impact assessments (comparable to algorithmic impact assessments), reforms to data protection and privacy law, balancing equitable and controlled access to certain quantum technologies, soft law mechanisms, and responsible research and innovation (including public engagement and education campaigns [emphasis mine]).
What does the current evidence and knowledge suggest regarding promising and leading practices that could be applied to drive and accelerate the adoption of quantum technologies in Canada?
Canada’s innovation policy has historically prioritized the supply side of the innovation process, minimizing the importance of demand-side strategies for technology diffusion and adoption by industry. In the domain of emerging technologies such as quantum, policies tend to prioritize supply-side instruments to a greater extent due to a relatively small number of technology applications and end-users. The adoption of quantum technologies by the public and private sectors may require policies and programs designed to stimulate the demand for innovation (Figure 1). These can include public-private co-operation (including government procurement and other specialized programs, as well as public-private partnerships), regulation, pro-competition oversight and policies, industry-led initiatives, and building a quantum-ready workforce for the adopting sectors. These instruments enable the government to determine the direction of innovation policy and use it to address ethical, socioeconomic, legal, and governance issues.
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Evidence shows that government procurement is an important policy instrument to incentivize the adoption of new technologies, but existing procurement programs aimed at innovative SMEs are underutilized and do not meet their spending objectives. In addition to procurement, specialized government programs and agencies could facilitate the uptake of quantum technologies in various sectors. The experiences of foreign jurisdictions such as Finland and Germany demonstrate that technology diffusion is the key mandate of successful government programs. Moreover, the potential of government initiatives is contingent upon building strong inter-firm consortia and integrating advanced end-users into technology diffusion networks. Foreign jurisdictions leading in the quantum space (e.g., European Union, United States) are developing specialized industry associations or consortia. Domestically, Quantum Industry Canada unites both producers and users of quantum technologies to, among other things, facilitate the commercialization and adoption of quantum technologies by Canadian companies.
Hybrid cross-sectoral organizations involving governments, industry, and academia (also known as the triple-helix model) have been successful in facilitating technology adoption in some foreign jurisdictions, including Germany and the Netherlands. Such cross-sectoral collaborations can help identify applications for, and accelerate the adoption of, quantum technologies in specific sectors and help raise awareness of the ELSPI aspects of technology adoption across multiple stakeholders. In Canada, collaborative efforts among academia, industry, and government in biomanufacturing and life sciences could serve as a model for a domestic approach to cross-sectoral partnerships in quantum technologies.
National as well as sector- and technology-specific roadmaps can help stakeholders identify and address various challenges impeding the adoption and commercialization of quantum technologies. In the panel’s opinion, the roadmapping process is one of the most promising technology adoption strategies contained in the NQS. The experiences of foreign jurisdictions (e.g., Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, European Union) show that the development of national roadmaps usually involves different orders of government and focuses on opportunities for collaboration among stakeholders in the private sector and academia.
Another public-private collaborative approach to encouraging the uptake of quantum technologies is a sector-specific or government advisory board that facilitates discussions among various stakeholders — developers, users, governments, and academia. While government advisory boards (e.g., Quantum Advisory Council in Canada, National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee in the United States) tend to prioritize quantum technology development, alternative models could focus on technology adoption by providing financial assistance to co-operative projects designed by sector-specific boards to, among other things, develop adoption-supporting technological capabilities and infrastructure. This could help identify sector-specific strengths and weaknesses and cultivate relationships among stakeholders within the sector.
Quantum technology companies may implement some industry-led approaches to facilitate technology adoption. These include business-to-business partnerships among technology producers and end-users and the provision of professional support services (e.g., cloud-based quantum computing, education and training, customized applications). A key advantage of this approach is that it gives new or inexperienced end-users access to specialized technology and expertise in a cost- effective way, thereby promoting open innovation.
Many sectors often cited as potential adopters of quantum technologies (e.g., finance, telecommunications, mining, healthcare) are subject to federal and provincial/territorial regulation. Various regulatory interventions, including cybersecurity standards and data privacy rules, may incentivize the adoption of quantum technologies that ensure regulatory compliance. Policies that confer too much discretion on the administrative state, however, could have unintended chilling effects on privacy and human rights. Moreover, regulation cannot substitute for the important role of competition in driving quantum technology adoption. In sectors with high levels of vertical integration, such as telecommunications, pro-competition policy reforms and regulatory oversight could have a spillover effect that helps drive the adoption of quantum technologies.
In order to sell technologies internationally and embed themselves in global supply chains, domestic companies must comply with international technology standards. The lack of standardization is inhibiting the adoption of QRC. In some cases, select countries and the private sector can influence the standards- setting process to advance the international adoption of national or company-specific standards. A coordinated domestic approach is instrumental in ensuring Canada’s meaningful participation in international standards-setting forums.
Even though a variety of programs and instruments can stimulate the diffusion and adoption of quantum technologies, evidence demonstrates significant shortages in a quantum-ready workforce for both developing and adopting sectors. This shortage is likely to increase with the development of new applications and use cases, but there is a lack of reliable projections on personnel needs. Training and education as well as immigration are two complementary strategies to prepare, attract, and retain highly qualified personnel.
When it comes to education, training in quantum technology is largely offered at the graduate level. While some positions in the quantum industry require a PhD, many others (including engineers, software developers, and technicians) do not. A variety of alternative education and training opportunities (including programs offered at the undergraduate and college levels, work-integrated learning, programs for senior executives in the adopting sectors, and hands-on industry training) can be considered when designing educational curricula. Information about skills needed in the adopting sectors could inform industry-focused programs. Strategies for developing a quantum workforce would benefit from prioritizing the recruitment of groups currently underrepresented in quantum-related disciplines (and in science, technology, engineering and math more broadly)
Canada also depends on immigration to build its quantum-ready workforce. Existing programs for foreign workers and international students (e.g., Global Talent Stream, Canadian Experience Class, Provincial Nominee Program) can help attract and retain talent. Foreign-trained workers and international students, however, face a number of immigration-related obstacles, such as a lack of National Occupational Classification codes for quantum-based occupations, high tuition fees, immigration processing backlogs, and onerous study and work permit fees. Canada’s Express Entry program does not account for a variety of work experiences acquired by international students during their studies, thereby creating systemic barriers to international graduates seeking permanent residency. As an alternative, flexible and agile immigration programs, similar to ones that fuelled the development of the telecommunications sector in the 1990s, could give Canada a leg up when competing for the international talent necessary to stimulate technology adoption and shape quantum innovation on a global level. [pages xv – xxiii in the print version and pages 15 – 23 in the PDF version]
I’m happy to see mention of public engagement and education campaigns and I have thoughts but that’s for later in part two [link to be added when part two published] when I discuss the report.
The Opening Ceremony of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) will be held from 4-5 February 2025 at UNESCO Headquarters. It marks the official commencement of a global initiative dedicated to advancing quantum science and its transformative applications. As the lead agency for IYQ, UNESCO aims to maximize the visibility of IYQ and the transformative potential of quantum science and technology in addressing critical global challenges. It will serve as a platform for the exchange of ideas, allowing participants to showcase best practices in quantum science education, research, and industry applications. It will provide an opportunity to inspire interdisciplinary and cross-regional cooperation and to address disparities between the Global North and South while inspiring inclusive innovation. The opening ceremony will also highlight the importance of integrating ethics and responsible innovation into the core of discussions.
The Exhibition
An exhibition will run alongside the event to celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Visitors can explore cutting-edge displays that showcase quantum science breakthroughs, innovative applications, and future possibilities. This interactive experience is designed to engage audiences and inspire a deeper appreciation for quantum technologies. The exhibition will be held in Salle des Actes and Salle des Pas Perdus from 3–7 February 2025 and is open throughout the day for all attendees to visit.
The Opening Ceremony and the Exhibition is open to the public and everyone is invited! Please join us!
Important Notice
Please note the dates and times of the Opening Ceremony and exhibition carefully to plan your visit. As the Opening Ceremony spans two days, we kindly ask you to specify during registration whether you will attend on February 4 [2025], February 5 [2025], or both days. Additionally, the exhibition will run from February 3–7, 2025, providing flexibility for your visit. Your timely registration helps us ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for all attendees.
Day 1 Opening Ceremony: The Day 1 Opening Ceremony will take place on February 4, 2025, in Room I, UNESCO Headquarters, 125 Avenue de Suffren, Paris, France. The event starts at 10:00 AM, with doors opening at 8:30 AM and welcome coffee served from 9:30 AM.
Day 2 Opening Ceremony: The Day 2 Opening Ceremony will take place on February 5, 2025, in Room II, UNESCO Headquarters, 125 Avenue de Suffren, Paris, France. The event starts at 9:30 AM, with doors opening at 8:00 AM and welcome coffee served from 9:00 AM.
Exhibition: A special exhibition showcasing quantum science and its revolutionary applications will be held in Salle des Actes and Salle des Pas Perdus from February 3–7, 2025. The exhibition will be open throughout the day, providing attendees an engaging and interactive experience.
There is a registration form for attending the two day opening ceremony, there’s also a registration form for exhibitors and you can find both here. The deadline for both registrations is February 2, 2025.
The opening session will set the tone for the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, emphasizing the significance of quantum advancements in shaping our future. Leaders and experts will highlight the global importance of fostering innovation and international collaboration.
10:00-10:05 Promotional Video of the International Year 10:05-10:10 Opening Ms Hayley Edmonds, master of ceremony 10:10-10:20 Welcome Address Ms Lidia BRITO, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO 10:10-10:25 High-Level Remarks Minister of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation of the United Mexican States(tbc) H.E. Amb. Simona-Mirela Miculescu, President of the 42nd session of the General Conference Mr Cephas Adjej MENSAH, Director of Research, Statistics and Information Management, on behalf of the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Ghana 10:25-10:55 Keynote Address “Watching The Quantum World With Ultrashort Light Pulses” Prof. Anne L’HUILLIER, Physicist and 2023 Nobel Laureate in Physics, Sweden/France
10:55 -11:00 Group Photo
11:00-11:50 Fireside Chat: Shaping a Sustainable Future for Global Development
This engaging fireside chat will delve into the ways quantum technologies can contribute to a more inclusive and equitable world. Panelists will discuss strategies to bridge the global divide and ensure that the benefits of quantum advancements are shared widely.
Moderator: Ms Catarina ROLFSDOTTER-JANSSON, journalist, Moderator, TV-program host, Sweden ▪ Ms Samia Charfi KADDOUR, Professor of Physics at the Faculty of Science of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar; former Director General of Scientific Research at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research; Tunisia ▪ Prof. Ana Maria CETTO, Professor at the Institute of Physics, the Director of the Museum of Light at the National University of Mexico, the United Mexican States ▪ Prof. John DOYLE, Henry B. Silsbee Professor of Physics at Harvard University, President of the American Physical Society; the United States of America
11:50-12:40 Roundtable Discussion: Pushing the Frontiers of Quantum Science and Technology
Discover groundbreaking research and innovations that are pushing the boundaries of quantum science. This discussion will highlight the latest advancements and how they are shaping tomorrow’s technologies.
Moderator: Ms Maricela MUNOZ, Director External Affairs, Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA), Switzerland
▪ Dr Dave SMITH, National Technology Adviser, on behalf of the Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ▪ Prof. Alain ASPECT, Physicist and 2022 Nobel Laureate in Physics, France ▪ Prof. Stephanie SIMMONS, Founder & Chief Quantum Officer at Photonic, Co-Chair of Canada’s National Quantum Advisory, Canada [still a professor at Simon Fraser University?] ▪ Prof. Jian Wei PAN, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Vice Chancellor, University of Science and Technology of China, China
12:40-12:50 Music Performance
12:50-1400 Lunch Hall Segur, le Foyer and the Restaurant on the 7th floor of the UNESCO
14:00-14;50 Panel Discussion and Public Engagement and Education in Quantum Science and Technology
Explore the critical role of public engagement and education in demystifying quantum science and inspiring the next generation. Panelists will discuss initiatives that make quantum concepts accessible to diverse audiences and highlight the importance of inclusivity in science education.
Moderator: Prof. Emily EDWARDS, Associate Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Duke Quantum Center, United States of America ▪ Prof. Andrzej SZEPTYCKI, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland ▪ Prof. Jacquiline ROMERO, Associate Professor, Reader and Westpac Research Fellow, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland Australia/the Republic of the Philippines. ▪ Dr Yaseera ISMAIL, Senior lecturer, Department of Physics at Stellenbosch University, South Africa ▪ Ms Elisa Torres DURNEY, CEO of Girls in Quantum; Chile ▪ Dr John DONOHUE, Senior Manager of Scientific Outreach at the Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo; Canada
14:50-15:40 Roundtable Discussion: Policy and Innovation in Quantum Science for Advancing Global Goals for Sustainable Development
This session will explore how policies and innovation in quantum science can be aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The discussion will focus on harnessing quantum advancements for climate action, economic growth, and societal well-being.
Moderator: Prof. Luiz DAVIDOVICH, Professor Emeritus at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; Distinguished fellow at the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering of the University of Texas A&M [Texas A&M University], Brazil ▪ Mr. Seizo ONOE, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, International Telecommunication Union ▪ Prof. Serge HAROCHE, Physicist and 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics, France ▪ Dr Najwa AARAJ, CEO of Technology Innovation Institute, UAE ▪ Prof. Tommaso CALARCO, Director of the Institute for Quantum Control in Jülich, Coordinator of EU Quantum Flagship; Germany/Italy ▪ Dr Cathy FOLEY, Board member of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia
15:40-16:35 Networking Session Coffee Break
16:35-17:45 Insight Talk by Nobel Laureate on Quantum Mechanics 2025: Incredible Past, Amazing Present, Magnificent Future
Be inspired by the insights of Prof. William D. Phillips, 1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics, as he shares his unique perspective on the wonders of quantum science. This engaging session allows attendees to interact with one of the field’s most esteemed figures.
Moderator: Prof. Rosario FAZIO, Head of the Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics Section, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics
Speaker: Prof. William D. PHILLIPS, Physicist and 1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics, United States of America
17:05-18:05 Voices from the Industry: The Challenge of Developing Quantum at Scale
This panel will address the challenges and opportunities of scaling quantum technologies for practical use. Industry leaders will share their experiences in bringing quantum research to market, showcasing groundbreaking developments in this field.
Moderator: Dr. Celia MERZBACHER, Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) ▪ Ms Katie PIZZOLATO, Vice President of Quantum Algorithms and Scientific Partnerships, IBM ▪ Dr Krysta SVORE, Technical Fellow, Microsoft ▪ Dr Rajeeb HAZRA, CEO of Quantinuum ▪ Dr Grégoire RIBORDY, CEO of ID Quantique ▪ Prof. Alexander LING, Principal Investigator, Centre for Quantum Technologies, Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore; Co-founder of SpeQtral & S-Fifteen Instruments, Singapore. ▪ Dr Takuya Kitagawa, President, QuEra
18:05-18:25 UNESCO’s Role in Reducing the Quantum Divide: Advancing Global Innovation and Inclusion
This session highlights UNESCO’s commitment to reducing the global quantum divide by fostering innovation, building capacities, and advancing inclusion between the Global North and South. It emphasizes the transformative potential of quantum science and technology while ensuring its ethical and responsible applications. By bridging technical gaps and promoting equity, UNESCO reaffirms its dedication to leveraging quantum technologies for sustainable and inclusive development.
Host: Ms Lidia BRITO, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO ▪ Ms Dafna FEINHOLZ, Director a.i. Division of Research, Ethics and Inclusion, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO ▪ Mr. Guilherme CANELA DE SOUZA GODOI, Director of Division for Digital Inclusion and Policies and Digital Transformation (CI/DPT) and Secretary of the Information for All Programme (IFAP), Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO ▪ Mr Atish DABHOLKAR, Director of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, UNESCO
18:25-18:30 Day one Concluding Notes
Sir Peter KNIGHT, Professor, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Chair of the Quantum Metrology Institute, National Physical Laboratory, co-chair of the Steering Committee of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Day 2 5 February 2025 Room II
09:00-09:30 Welcome Coffee
09:30-09:45 Introductory Session
Begin the day with reflections on the importance of ethics in quantum science and its role in shaping responsible innovation and inclusive governance, setting the tone for the day’s discussions.
09:30-09:35 Welcome address by the Master of Ceremonies Ms Hayley EDMONDS, journalist, France 09:35-09:40 Introductory remarks (video meesage) Ms Gabriela RAMOS, Assistant Director-General of Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO 09:40-09:45 Scene Setting Allocution Prof. Yasser OMAR, Theoretical Physicist, IST, University of Lisbon & President of PQI – Portuguese Quantum Institutel
09:45-10:45 Panel Discussion: Ethics of Quantum Technologies
This panel will explore the ethical challenges of quantum advancements and the need for an anticipatory approach and a global reflection to understand the potential benefits and risks of these powerful technologies. Panelists will discuss why an ethical and human rights-based framework is essential to ensure ethical guardrails while enabling responsible innovation.
09:45-09:50 Scene Setting Allocution Prof. Pieter VERMAAS, Philosopher and Head of the Quantum Lab, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management of TU Delft, and Lead of ethics research, Dutch Quantum Delta, Kingdom of the Netherlands 09:50-10:35 Panel Discussion ’ Moderator: Mr Diederick CROESE, Director of the Centre for Quantum and Society, Quantum Delta NL, Kingdom of the Netherlands ▪ Prof. Emma RUTTKAMP-BLOEM, Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria, Chairperson of the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), South Africa ▪ Professor Sang Wook YI, Professor of Philosophy, Hanyang University, Chairperson, Division of Ethics and Safety, National High-Level Committee for AI Strategies, Rapporteur of the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), Republic of Korea ▪ Prof. Karina Garay PALMETT, Senior Researcher, Department of Optics of the Division of Applied Physics of the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education at Ensenada, the United Mexican States ▪ Prof. Shohini GHOSE, Professor of Physics and Computer Science at Wilfrid Laurier University and Chief Technology Officer, Quantum Algorithms Institute, Canada ▪ Prof. Anil PRABHAKAR, Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and Co-Founder of QuNu Labs and Quanfluence, India
10:35-10:45 Q&A session
This panel focuses on fostering responsible innovation in quantum science to ensure its alignment with global ethical standards and sustainable development goals. This panel will discuss strategies, challenges, and opportunities for integrating responsibility into the research and deployment of quantum technologies. Panelists will focus on concrete ways to create responsible and inclusive innovation systems and how open-source applications can be promoted to prevent further widening digital divides.
11:05-11:10 Scene Setting Allocution Prof. Matthias C. KETTEMANN, Professor of Innovation, Theory and Philosophy of Law, University of Innsbruck, and Director of the Innsbruck Quantum Ethics Lab, Member of the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), Republic of Austria
11:10-12:00 Panel Discussion
Moderator: Mr Diederick CROESE, Director of the Centre for Quantum and Society, Quantum Delta NL, Kingdom of the Netherlands ▪ Dr Mira Luca WOLF-BAUWENS, Responsible Quantum Computing Lead in the Responsible & Inclusive Technology Team, IBM Research, Switzerland ▪ Dr. Prince OSEI, Lead Scientist & Director for Quantum Leap Africa, President of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Ghana ▪ Prof. Farida FASSI, Professor of Physics at the Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Member of African Academy of Sciences, Morocco ▪ Prof. Matthias C. KETTEMANN, Professor of Innovation, Theory and Philosophy of Law, University of Innsbruck, and Director of the Innsbruck Quantum Ethics Lab, Member of the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), Republic of Austria ▪ Prof. Yasser OMAR, Theoretical Physicist, President of IST, University of Lisbon & PQI – Portuguese Quantum Institute, Portugal
12:00-12:10 Q&A session
12:10-12:30 Closing of Day 2 and the Launch of the International Year
Celebrate the successful completion of Day 2 of the Opening Ceremony and the launch of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology with reflections from UNESCO’s leadership and closing cultural performances. Final remarks will emphasise the global importance of quantum advancements and the collaborative efforts needed to harness their full potential.
12:10-12:15 Concluding notes of Day Two Ms Claudia REINPRECHT, Focal point of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in digital and tech diplomacy and for the EU Digital Diplomacy Network, Republic of Austria
12:15-12:25 Closing of the Launch of the International of the Year Quantum Science and Technology Ms Dafna FEINHOLZ, Director a.i. Division of Research, Ethics and Inclusion, Social and Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO Ms Lidia BRITO, Assistant Director-General of Natural Sciences, UNESCO
Side-Exhibition
An exhibition for the IYQ will be held on Salle des Actes and Salle des Pas Perdus.
I have posted this as a prelude (of sorts) to my commentary on the November 2023 Council of Canadian Academies’ report, Quantum Potential.
ETA: On February 3, 2025 all tags added except ‘UNESCO’ and ‘International Year of Quantum Science and Technology’, which were included when previously published.
Artificial intelligence made a splash when the 2024 Nobel Prize announcements were made as they were a key factor in both the prizes for physics and for chemistry.
Where do physics, chemistry, and AI go from here?
I have a few speculative pieces about physics, chemistry, and AI. First off we have Nello Cristianini’s (Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bath (England) October 10, 2024 essay for The Conversation, Note: Links have been removed,
The 2024 Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry have given us a glimpse of the future of science. Artificial intelligence (AI) was central to the discoveries honoured by both awards. You have to wonder what Alfred Nobel, who founded the prizes, would think of it all.
We are certain to see many more Nobel medals handed to researchers who made use of AI tools. As this happens, we may find the scientific methods honoured by the Nobel committee depart from straightforward categories like “physics”, “chemistry” and “physiology or medicine”.
We may also see the scientific backgrounds of recipients retain a looser connection with these categories. This year’s physics prize was awarded to the American John Hopfield, at Princeton University, and British-born Geoffrey Hinton, from the University of Toronto. While Hopfield is a physicist, Hinton studied experimental psychology before gravitating to AI.
The chemistry prize was shared between biochemist David Baker, from the University of Washington, and the computer scientists Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, who are both at Google DeepMind in the UK.
There is a close connection between the AI-based advances honoured in the physics and chemistry categories. Hinton helped develop an approach used by DeepMind to make its breakthrough in predicting the shapes of proteins.
The physics laureates, Hinton in particular, laid the foundations of the powerful field known as machine learning. This is a subset of AI that’s concerned with algorithms, sets of rules for performing specific computational tasks.
Hopfield’s work is not particularly in use today, but the backpropagation algorithm (co-invented by Hinton) has had a tremendous impact on many different sciences and technologies. This is concerned with neural networks, a model of computing that mimics the human brain’s structure and function to process data. Backpropagation allows scientists to “train” enormous neural networks. While the Nobel committee did its best to connect this influential algorithm to physics, it’s fair to say that the link is not a direct one.
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Every two years, since 1994, scientists have been holding a contest to find the best ways to predict protein structures and shapes from the sequences of their amino acids. The competition is called Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP).
For the past few contests, CASP winners have used some version of DeepMind’s AlphaFold. There is, therefore, a direct line to be drawn from Hinton’s backpropagation to Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold 2 breakthrough.
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Attributing credit has always been controversial aspect of the Nobel prizes. A maximum of three researchers can share a Nobel. But big advances in science are collaborative. Scientific papers may have 10, 20, 30 authors or more. More than one team might contribute to the discoveries honoured by the Nobel committee.
This year we may have further discussions about the attribution of the research on backpropagation algorithm, which has been claimed by various researchers, as well as for the general attribution of a discovery to a field like physics.
We now have a new dimension to the attribution problem. It’s increasingly unclear whether we will always be able to distinguish between the contributions of human scientists and those of their artificial collaborators – the AI tools that are already helping push forward the boundaries of our knowledge.
In 2024, the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for their foundational work in artificial intelligence (AI), and the Nobel Prize in chemistry went to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper for using AI to solve the protein-folding problem, a 50-year grand challenge problem in science.
A new article, written by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Calculation Consulting, examines the convergence of physics, chemistry, and AI, highlighted by recent Nobel Prizes. It traces the historical development of neural networks, emphasizing the role of interdisciplinary research in advancing AI. The authors advocate for nurturing AI-enabled polymaths to bridge the gap between theoretical advancements and practical applications, driving progress toward artificial general intelligence. The article is published in Patterns.
“With AI being recognized in connections to both physics and chemistry, practitioners of machine learning may wonder how these sciences relate to AI and how these awards might influence their work,” explained Ganesh Mani, Professor of Innovation Practice and Director of Collaborative AI at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, who coauthored the article. “As we move forward, it is crucial to recognize the convergence of different approaches in shaping modern AI systems based on generative AI.”
In their article, the authors explore the historical development of neural networks. By examining the history of AI development, they contend, we can understand more thoroughly the connections among computer science, theoretical chemistry, theoretical physics, and applied mathematics. The historical perspective illuminates how foundational discoveries and inventions across these disciplines have enabled modern machine learning with artificial neural networks.
Then they turn to key breakthroughs and challenges in this field, starting with Hopfield’s work, and go on to explain how engineering has at times preceded scientific understanding, as is the case with the work of Jumper and Hassabis.
The authors conclude with a call to action, suggesting that the rapid progress of AI across diverse sectors presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges. To bridge the gap between hype and tangible development, they say, a new generation of interdisciplinary thinkers must be cultivated.
These “modern-day Leonardo da Vincis,” as the authors call them, will be crucial in developing practical learning theories that can be applied immediately by engineers, propelling the field toward the ambitious goal of artificial general intelligence.
This calls for a paradigm shift in how scientific inquiry and problem solving are approached, say the authors, one that embraces holistic, cross-disciplinary collaboration and learns from nature to understand nature. By breaking down silos between fields and fostering a culture of intellectual curiosity that spans multiple domains, innovative solutions can be identified to complex global challenges like climate change. Through this synthesis of diverse knowledge and perspectives, catalyzed by AI, meaningful progress can be made and the field can realize the full potential of technological aspirations.
“This interdisciplinary approach is not just beneficial but essential for addressing the many complex challenges that lie ahead,” suggests Charles Martin, Principal Consultant at Calculation Consulting, who coauthored the article. “We need to harness the momentum of current advancements while remaining grounded in practical realities.”
The authors acknowledge the contributions of Scott E. Fahlman, Professor Emeritus in Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science.
A scientific enthusiast: “I was a beta tester for the Nobel prize-winning AlphaFold AI”
From an October 11, 2024 essay by Rivka Isaacson (Professor of Molecular Biophysics, King’s College London) for The Conversation, Note: Links have been removed,
The deep learning machine AlphaFold, which was created by Google’s AI research lab DeepMind, is already transforming our understanding of the molecular biology that underpins health and disease.
One half of the 2024 Nobel prize in chemistry went to David Baker from the University of Washington in the US, with the other half jointly awarded to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper, both from London-based Google DeepMind.
If you haven’t heard of AlphaFold, it may be difficult to appreciate how important it is becoming to researchers. But as a beta tester for the software, I got to see first-hand how this technology can reveal the molecular structures of different proteins in minutes. It would take researchers months or even years to unpick these structures in laboratory experiments.
This technology could pave the way for revolutionary new treatments and drugs. But first, it’s important to understand what AlphaFold does.
Proteins are produced by series of molecular “beads”, created from a selection of the human body’s 20 different amino acids. These beads form a long chain that folds up into a mechanical shape that is crucial for the protein’s function.
Their sequence is determined by DNA. And while DNA research means we know the order of the beads that build most proteins, it’s always been a challenge to predict how the chain folds up into each “3D machine”.
These protein structures underpin all of biology. Scientists study them in the same way you might take a clock apart to understand how it works. Comprehend the parts and put together the whole: it’s the same with the human body.
Proteins are tiny, with a huge number located inside each of our 30 trillion cells. This meant for decades, the only way to find out their shape was through laborious experimental methods – studies that could take years.
Throughout my career I, along with many other scientists, have been engaged in such pursuits. Every time we solve a protein structure, we deposit it in a global database called the Protein Data Bank, which is free for anyone to use.
AlphaFold was trained on these structures, the majority of which were found using X-ray crystallography. For this technique, proteins are tested under thousands of different chemical states, with variations in temperature, density and pH. Researchers use a microscope to identify the conditions under which each protein lines up in a particular formation. These are then shot with X-rays to work out the spatial arrangement of all the atoms in that protein.
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Addictive experience
In March 2024, researchers at DeepMind approached me to beta test AlphaFold3, the latest incarnation of the software, which was close to release at the time.
I’ve never been a gamer but I got a taste of the addictive experience as, once I got access, all I wanted to do was spend hours trying out molecular combinations. As well as lightning speed, this new version introduced the option to include bigger and more varied molecules, including DNA and metals, and the opportunity to modify amino acids to mimic chemical signalling in cells.
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Understanding the moving parts and dynamics of proteins is the next frontier, now that we can predict static protein shapes with AlphaFold. Proteins come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. They can be rigid or flexible, or made of neatly structured units connected by bendy loops.
There weren’t too many highlights in the 2024 budget as far as I was concerned. Overall, it was a bread and butter budget concerned with housing, jobs, business, and prices along with the government’s perennial focus on climate change and the future for young people and Indigenous peoples. There was nothing particularly special about the funds allocated for research and, as for defence spending in the 2024 budget, that was and is nominally interesting.
“Boosting Research, Innovation, and Productivity” was found in Chapter Four: Economic Growth for Every Generation.
4.1 Boosting Research, Innovation, and Productivity
For anyone who’s not familiar with ‘innovation’ as a buzzword, it’s code for ‘business’. From 4.1 of the budget,
Key Ongoing Actions
Supporting scientific discovery, developing Canadian research talent, and attracting top researchers from around the planet to make Canada their home base for their important work with more than $16 billion committed since 2016.
Supporting critical emerging sectors, through initiatives like the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, [emphases mine] the National Quantum Strategy, the Pan-Canadian Genomics Strategy, and the Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy.
Nearly $2 billion to fuel Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters to grow these innovation ecosystems, promote commercialization, support intellectual property creation and retention, and scale Canadian businesses.
Investing $3.5 billion in the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership to strengthen the innovation, competitiveness, and resiliency of the agriculture and agri-food sector.
Flowing up to $333 million over the next decade to support dairy sector investments in research, product and market development, and processing capacity for solids non-fat, thus increasing its competitiveness and productivity.
The only ’emerging’ sector singled out for new funding was the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy and that is almost all ‘innovation’, from 4.1 of the budget,
Strengthening Canada’s AI Advantage
Canada’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem is among the best in the world. Since 2017, the government has invested over $2 billion towards AI in Canada. Fuelled by those investments, Canada is globally recognized for strong AI talent, research, and its AI sector.
Today, Canada’s AI sector is ranked first in the world for growth of women in AI, and first in the G7 for year-over-year growth of AI talent. Every year since 2019, Canada has published the most AI-related papers, per capita, in the G7. Our AI firms are filing patents at three times the average rate in the G7, and they are attracting nearly a third of all venture capital in Canada. In 2022-23, there were over 140,000 actively engaged AI professionals in Canada, an increase of 29 per cent compared to the previous year. These are just a few of Canada’s competitive advantages in AI and we are aiming even higher.
To secure Canada’s AI advantage, the government has already:
Established the first national AI strategy in the world through the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy;
Supported access to advanced computing capacity, including through the recent signing of a letter of intent with NVIDIA and a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.K. government; and,
Scaled-up Canadian AI firms through the Strategic Innovation Fund and Global Innovation Clusters program.
Figure 4.1 Building on Canada’s AI Advantage
AI is a transformative economic opportunity for Canada and the government is committed to doing more to support our world-class research community, launch Canadian AI businesses, and help them scale-up to meet the demands of the global economy. The processing capacity required by AI is accelerating a global push for the latest technology, for the latest computing infrastructure.
Currently, most compute capacity is located in other countries. Challenges accessing compute power slows down AI research and innovation, and also exposes Canadian firms to a reliance on privately-owned computing, outside of Canada. This comes with dependencies and security risks. And, it is a barrier holding back our AI firms and researchers.
We need to break those barriers to stay competitive in the global AI race and ensure workers benefit from the higher wages of AI transformations; we must secure Canada’s AI advantage. We also need to ensure workers who fear their jobs may be negatively impacted by AI have the tools and skills training needed in a changing economy.
To secure Canada’s AI advantage Budget 2024 announces a monumental increase in targeted AI support of $2.4 billion, including:
$2 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, to launch a new AI Compute Access Fund and Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy, to help Canadian researchers, start-ups, and scale-up businesses access the computational power they need to compete and help catalyze the development of Canadian-owned and located AI infrastructure.
$200 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to boost AI start-ups to bring new technologies to market, and accelerate AI adoption in critical sectors, such as agriculture, clean technology, health care, and manufacturing. This support will be delivered through Canada’s Regional Development Agencies.
$100 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, for the National Research Council’s AI Assist Program to help Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses and innovators build and deploy new AI solutions, potentially in coordination with major firms, to increase productivity across the country.
$50 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, to support workers who may be impacted by AI, such as creative industries. This support will be delivered through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, which will provide new skills training for workers in potentially disrupted sectors and communities.
The government will engage with industry partners and research institutes to swiftly implement AI investment initiatives, fostering collaboration and innovation across sectors for accelerated technological advancement.
Before moving to the part of budget that focuses on safe and responsible use of AI, I’ve got some information about the legislative situation and an omnibus bill C-27 which covers AI, from my October 10, 2024 posting,
You can find more up-to-date information about the status of the Committee’s Bill-27 meetings on this webpage where it appears that September 26, 2024 was the committee’s most recent meeting. If you click on the highlighted meeting dates, you will be given the option of watching a webcast of the meeting. The webpage will also give you access to a list of witnesses, the briefs and the briefs themselves.
November 2024 update: The committee’s most recent meeting is still listed as September 26, 2024.
AI has tremendous economic potential, but as with all technology, it presents important considerations to ensure its safe development and implementation. Canada is a global leader in responsible AI and is supporting an AI ecosystem that promotes responsible use of technology. From development through to implementation and beyond, the government is taking action to protect Canadians from the potentially harmful impacts of AI.
The government is committed to guiding AI innovation in a positive direction, and to encouraging the responsible adoption of AI technologies by Canadians and Canadian businesses. To bolster efforts to ensure the responsible use of AI:
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $50 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to create an AI Safety Institute of Canada to ensure the safe development and deployment of AI. The AI Safety Institute will help Canada better understand and protect against the risks of advanced and generative AI systems. The government will engage with stakeholders and international partners with competitive AI policies to inform the final design and stand-up of the AI Safety Institute.
Budget 2024 also proposes to provide $5.1 million in 2025-26 to equip the AI and Data Commissioner Office with the necessary resources to begin enforcing the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.
Budget 2024 proposes $3.5 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to advance Canada’s leadership role with the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, securing Canada’s leadership on the global stage when it comes to advancing the responsible development, governance, and use of AI technologies internationally.
Using AI to Keep Canadians Safe
AI has shown incredible potential to toughen up security systems, including screening protocols for air cargo. Since 2012, Transport Canada has been testing innovative approaches to ensure that air cargo coming into Canada is safe, protecting against terrorist attacks. This included launching a pilot project to screen 10 to 15 per cent of air cargo bound for Canada and developing an artificial intelligence system for air cargo screening.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $6.7 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to Transport Canada to establish the Pre-Load Air Cargo Targeting Program to screen 100 per cent of air cargo bound for Canada. This program, powered by cutting-edge artificial intelligence, will increase security and efficiency, and align Canada’s air security regime with those of its international partners.
There was a small section which updates some information about intellectual property retention (patent box retention) but otherwise is concerned with industrial R&B (a perennial Canadian weakness), from 4.1 of the budget,
Boosting R&D and Intellectual Property Retention
Research and development (R&D) is a key driver of productivity and growth. Made-in-Canada innovations meaningfully increase our gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, create good-paying jobs, and secure Canada’s position as a world-leading advanced economy.
To modernize and improve the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives, the federal government launched consultations on January 31, 2024, to explore cost-neutral ways to enhance the program to better support innovative businesses and drive economic growth. In these consultations, which closed on April 15, 2024, the government asked Canadian researchers and innovators for ways to better deliver SR&ED support to small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses and enable the next generation of innovators to scale-up, create jobs, and grow the economy.
Budget 2024 announces the government is launching a second phase of consultations on more specific policy parameters, to hear further views from businesses and industry on specific and technical reforms. This includes exploring how Canadian public companies could be made eligible for the enhanced credit. Further details on the consultation process will be released shortly on the Department of Finance Canada website.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $600 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $150 million per year ongoing for future enhancements to the SR&ED program. The second phase of consultations will inform how this funding could be targeted to boost research and innovation.
On January 31, 2024, the government also launched consultations on creating a patent box regime to encourage the development and retention of intellectual property in Canada. The patent box consultation closed on April 15, 2024. Submissions received through this process, which are still under review, will help inform future government decisions with respect to a patent box regime.
Nice to get an update on what’s happening with the patent box regime.
The Tri-Council consisting of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) don’t often get mentioned in the federal budget but they did this year, from 4.1 of the budget,
Enhancing Research Support
Since 2016, the federal government has committed more than $16 billion in research, including funding for the federal granting councils—the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
This research support enables groundbreaking discoveries in areas such as climate change, health emergencies, artificial intelligence, and psychological health. This plays a critical role in solving the world’s greatest challenges, those that will have impacts for generations.
Canada’s granting councils already do excellent work within their areas of expertise, but more needs to be done to maximize their effect. The improvements we are making today, following extensive consultations including with the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, will strengthen and modernize Canada’s federal research support.
To increase core research grant funding and support Canadian researchers, Budget 2024 proposes to provide $1.8 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $748.3 million per year ongoing to SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR.
To provide better coordination across the federally funded research ecosystem, Budget 2024 announces the government will create a new capstone research funding organization. The granting councils will continue to exist within this new organization, and continue supporting excellence in investigator-driven research, including linkages with the Health portfolio. This new organization and structure will also help to advance internationally collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and mission-driven research. The government is delivering on the Advisory Panel’s observation that more coordination is needed to maximize the impact of federal research support across Canada’s research ecosystem.
To help guide research priorities moving forward, Budget 2024 also announces the government will create an advisory Council on Science and Innovation. This Council will be made up of leaders from the academic, industry, and not-for-profit sectors, and be responsible for a national science and innovation strategy to guide priority setting and increase the impact of these significant federal investments.
Budget 2024 also proposes to provide a further $26.9 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $26.6 million in remaining amortization and $6.6 million ongoing, to the granting councils to establish an improved and harmonized grant management system.
The government will also work with other key players in the research funding system—the provinces, territories, and Canadian industry—to ensure stronger alignment, and greater co-funding to address important challenges, notably Canada’s relatively low level of business R&D investment.
More details on these important modernization efforts will be announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.
World-Leading Research Infrastructure
Modern, high-quality research facilities and infrastructure are essential for breakthroughs in Canadian research and science. These laboratories and research centres are where medical and other scientific breakthroughs are born, helping to solve real-world problems and create the economic opportunities of the future. World-leading research facilities will attract and train the next generation of scientific talent. That’s why, since 2015, the federal government has made unprecedented investments in science and technology, at an average of $13.6 billion per year, compared to the average from 2009-10 to 2015-16 of just $10.8 billion per year. But we can’t stop here.
To advance the next generation of cutting-edge research, Budget 2024 proposes major research and science infrastructure investments, including:
$399.8 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, to support TRIUMF, Canada’s sub-atomic physics research laboratory, located on the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus. This investment will upgrade infrastructure at the world’s largest cyclotron particle accelerator, positioning TRIUMF, and the partnering Canadian research universities, at the forefront of physics research and enabling new medical breakthroughs and treatments, from drug development to cancer therapy.
$176 million over five years, starting in 2025‑26, to CANARIE, a national not-for-profit organization that manages Canada’s ultra high-speed network to connect researchers, educators, and innovators, including through eduroam. With network speeds hundreds of times faster, and more secure, than conventional home and office networks, this investment will ensure this critical infrastructure can connect researchers across Canada’s world-leading post-secondary institutions.
$83.5 million over three years, starting in 2026-27 to extend support to Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon. Funding will continue the important work at the only facility of its kind in Canada. A synchrotron light source allows scientists and researchers to examine the microscopic nature of matter. This specialized infrastructure contributes to breakthroughs in areas ranging from climate-resistant crop development to green mining processes.
$45.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to support the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute, a network of universities and institutes that coordinate astroparticle physics expertise. Headquartered at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, the institute builds on the legacy of Dr. McDonald’s 2015 Nobel Prize for his work on neutrino physics. These expert engineers, technicians, and scientists design, construct, and operate the experiments conducted in Canada’s underground and underwater research infrastructure, where research into dark matter and other mysterious particles thrives. This supports innovation in areas like clean technology and medical imaging, and educates and inspires the next wave of Canadian talent.
$30 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support the completion of the University of Saskatchewan’s Centre for Pandemic Research at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon. This investment will enable the study of high-risk pathogens to support vaccine and therapeutic development, a key pillar in Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy. Of this amount, $3 million would be sourced from the existing resources of Prairies Economic Development Canada.
These new investments build on existing federal research support:
The Strategic Science Fund, which announced the results of its first competition in December 2023, providing support to 24 third-party science and research organizations starting in 2024-25;
Canada recently concluded negotiations to be an associate member of Horizon Europe, which would enable Canadians to access a broader range of research opportunities under the European program starting this year; and,
The steady increase in federal funding for extramural and intramural science and technology by the government which was 44 per cent higher in 2023 relative to 2015.
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Advancing Space Research and Exploration
Canada is a leader in cutting-edge innovation and technologies for space research and exploration. Our astronauts make great contributions to international space exploration missions. The government is investing in Canada’s space research and exploration activities.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $8.6 million in 2024-25 to the Canadian Space Agency for the Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program to support Canada’s world-class space industry and help accelerate the development of new technologies. This initiative empowers Canada to leverage space to solve everyday challenges, such as enhancing remote health care services and improving access to healthy food in remote communities, while also supporting Canada’s human space flight program.
Budget 2024 announces the establishment of a new whole-of-government approach to space exploration, technology development, and research. The new National Space Council will enable the level of collaboration required to secure Canada’s future as a leader in the global space race, addressing cross-cutting issues that span commercial, civil, and defence domains. This will also enable the government to leverage Canada’s space industrial base with its world-class capabilities, workforce, and track record of innovation and delivery.
I found two responses to the budget from two science organizations and the responses fall into the moderately pleased category. Here’s an April 17, 2024 news release from Evidence for Democracy (E4D), Note: Links have been removed,
As a leading advocate for evidence-informed decision-making and the advancement of science policy in Canada, Evidence for Democracy (E4D) welcomes the budget’s emphasis on scientific research and innovation. Since its inception, E4D has been at the forefront of advocating for policies that support robust scientific research and its integration into public policy. To support this work, we have compiled a budget analysis for the science and research sector here for more context on Budget 2024.
“Budget 2024 provides an encouraging investment into next generation researchers and research support systems,” says Sarah Laframboise, Executive Director of E4D, “By prioritizing investments in research talent, infrastructure, and innovation, the government is laying the foundation for a future driven by science and evidence.”
The budget’s initiatives to enhance graduate student scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships reflect a commitment to nurturing Canada’s research talent, a cornerstone of E4D’s advocacy efforts through its role on the Coalition for Canadian Research. E4D is encouraged by this investment in next generation researchers and core research grants, who form the bedrock of scientific discovery and drive innovation across sectors. Additionally, the formation of a new capstone research funding organization and Advisory Council on Science and Innovation are signs of a strategic vision that values Canadian science and research.
While Budget 2024 represents a significant step forward for science and research in Canada, E4D recognizes that challenges and opportunities lie ahead.
“We note that funding for research in Budget 2024 is heavily back-loaded, with larger funding values coming into effect in a few years time,” adds Laframboise, “Given that this also includes significant structural and policy changes, this leaves some concern over the execution and roll-out of these investments in practice.”
As the details of the budget initiatives unfold, E4D remains committed to monitoring developments, advocating for evidence-based policies, and engaging with stakeholders to ensure that science continues to thrive as a driver of progress and prosperity in Canada.
The April 16, 2024 E4D budget analysis by Farah Qaiser, Nada Salem, Sarah Laframboise, Simarpreet Singh is here. The authors provide more detail than I do.
The second response to the 2024 budget is from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is posted on a federal government website, from an April 29, 2024 letter, Note: Links have been removed,
Dear colleagues,
On April 16, 2024, the Government of Canada released Budget 2024 – Fairness for Every Generation – a Budget that proposes a historic level of investment in research and innovation. Most notably for CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC, this included $1.8 billion in core research grant funding over five years (starting in 2024-25, with $748.3 million per year ongoing). This proposed investment recognizes the vital role played by research in improving the lives of Canadians. We are thrilled by the news of this funding and will share more details about how and when these funds will be distributed as the Budget process unfolds.
Budget 2024 also proposes $825 million over five years (starting in 2024-25, with $199.8 million per year ongoing) to increase the annual value of master’s and doctoral student scholarships to $27,000 and $40,000, respectively, and post-doctoral fellowships to $70,000. This will also increase the number of research scholarships and fellowships provided, building to approximately 1,720 more graduate students or fellows benefiting each year. To make it easier for students and fellows to access support, the enhanced suite of scholarships and fellowship programs will be streamlined into one talent program. These proposals are the direct result of a coordinated effort to recognize the importance of students in the research ecosystem.
The Budget proposes other significant investments in health research, including providing:
a further $26.9 million over five years (starting in 2024-25, with $26.6 million in remaining amortization and $6.6 million ongoing) to the granting councils to establish an improved and harmonized grant management system.
$10 million in 2024-2025 for CIHR to support an endowment to increase prize values awarded by the Gairdner Foundation for excellence in health research.
$80 million over five years for Health Canada to support the Brain Canada Foundation in its advancement of brain research.
$30 million over three years (starting in 2024-25) to support Indigenous participation in research, with $10 million each for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit partners.
$2 billion over five years (starting in 2024-25) to launch a new AI Compute Access Fund and Canadian AI Sovereign Compute Strategy, to help Canadian researchers, start-ups, and scale-up businesses access the computational power they need to compete and help catalyze the development of Canadian-owned and located AI infrastructure.
As well, to help guide research priorities moving forward, Budget 2024 announces that the government will create an Advisory Council on Science and Innovation. This Council will be comprised of leaders from the academic, industry, and not-for-profit sectors, and will be responsible for a national science and innovation strategy to guide priority setting and increase the impact of these significant federal investments.
In addition to these historic investments, Budget 2024 includes a proposal to create a “new capstone research funding organization” that will provide improved coordination across the federally funded research ecosystem. This proposal stems directly from the recommendations of the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, and recognizes the need for more strategic coordination in the federal research system. The Budget notes that the granting councils will each continue to exist within this new organization, and continue supporting excellence in investigator-driven research, including linkages with the Health portfolio. While the governance implications of this new organization are not known at this time, the CIHR Institutes will remain in place as an integral part of CIHR. As stated in the Budget, the timing and details with respect to the creation of this organization still need to be determined, but it did indicate that more details will be announced in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.
As well, CIHR will be working closely with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Health Canada, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada in the coming months to implement various Budget measures related to research. In the meantime, CIHR will continue its business as usual.
These announcements and investments are significant and unprecedented and will create exciting opportunities for the Tri-Agencies and other partners across the federal research ecosystem to contribute to the health, social, and economic needs and priorities of Canadians. They will also ensure that Canada remains a world leader in science. This is positive and welcome news for the CIHR community. We look forward to embarking on this new journey with Canada’s health research community.
Tammy Clifford, PhD Acting President, CIHR
Defence
I have taken to including information about the funding for the military on the grounds that the military has historically been the source of much science, medical, and technology innovation. (Television anyone?)
As the world becomes increasingly unstable, as climate change increases the severity and frequency of natural disasters, and as the risk of conflict grows, Canada is asking more of our military. Whether it is deploying to Latvia as part of Operation REASSURANCE, or Nova Scotia as part of Operation LENTUS, those who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces have answered the call whenever they are needed, to keep Canadians safe.
On April 8 [2024], in response to the rapidly changing security environment, the government announced an update to its defence policy: Our North, Strong and Free. In this updated policy, the government laid out its vision for Canada’s national defence, which will ensure the safety of Canadians, our allies, and our partners by equipping our soldiers with the cutting-edge tools and advanced capabilities they need to keep Canadians safe in a changing world.
Budget 2024 proposes foundational investments of $8.1 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $73.0 billion over 20 years to the Department of National Defence (DND), the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to ensure Canada is ready to respond to global threats and to protect the well-being of Canadian Armed Forces members. Canada’s defence spending-to-GDP ratio is expected to reach 1.76 per cent by 2029-30. These include:
$549.4 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $267.8 billion in future years, for DND to replace Canada’s worldwide satellite communications equipment; for new tactical helicopters, long-range missile capabilities for the Army, and airborne early warning aircraft; and for other investments to defend Canada’s sovereignty;
$1.9 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $8.2 billion in future years, for DND to extend the useful life of the Halifax-class frigates and extend the service contract of the auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel, while Canada awaits delivery of next generation naval vessels;
$1.4 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $8.2 billion in future years, for DND to replenish its supplies of military equipment;
$1.8 billion over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $7.7 billion in future years, for DND to build a strategic reserve of ammunition and scale up the production of made-in-Canada artillery ammunition. Private sector beneficiaries are expected to contribute to infrastructure and retooling costs;
$941.9 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $16.2 billion in future years, for DND to ensure that military infrastructure can support modern equipment and operations;
$917.4 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $10.9 billion in future years and $145.8 million per year ongoing, for CSE and GAC to enhance their intelligence and cyber operations programs to protect Canada’s economic security and respond to evolving national security threats;
$281.3 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $216 million in future years, for DND for a new electronic health record platform for military health care;
$6.9 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $1.4 billion in future years, for DND to build up to 1,400 new homes and renovate an additional 2,500 existing units for Canadian Armed Forces personnel on bases across Canada (see Chapter 1);
$100 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to DND for child care services for Canadian Armed Forces personnel and their families (see Chapter 2);
$149.9 million over four years, starting in 2025-26, with $1.8 billion in future years, for DND to increase the number of civilian specialists in priority areas; and,
$52.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $54.8 million in future years, to DND to support start-up firms developing dual-use technologies critical to our defence via the NATO Innovation Fund.
To support Our North, Strong and Free, $156.7 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, and $537.7 million in future years would be allocated from funding previously committed to Canada’s 2017 Defence Policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged.
Budget 2024 also proposes additional measures to strengthen Canada’s national defence:
$1.2 billion over 20 years, starting in 2024-25, to support the ongoing procurement of critical capabilities, military equipment, and infrastructure through DND’s Capital Investment Fund; and,
$66.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $7.4 billion in future years to DND for the Future Aircrew Training program to develop the next generation of Royal Canadian Air Force personnel. Of this amount, $66.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, would be sourced from existing DND resources.
Budget 2024 also announces reforms to Canadian defence policy and its review processes:
Committing Canada to undertake a Defence Policy Review every four years, as part of a cohesive review of the National Security Strategy; and,
Undertaking a review of Canada’s defence procurement system.
With this proposed funding, since 2022, the government has committed more than $125 billion over 20 years in incremental funding to strengthen national defence and help keep Canadians and our democracy safe in an increasingly unpredictable world—today and for generations. Since 2015, this adds up to over $175 billion in incremental funding for national defence.
Enhancing CSIS Intelligence Capabilities
As an advanced economy and an open and free democracy, Canada continues to be targeted by hostile actors, which threaten our democratic institutions, diaspora communities, and economic prosperity. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) protects Canadians from threats, such as violent extremism and foreign interference, through its intelligence operations in Canada and around the world.
To equip CSIS to combat emerging global threats and keep pace with technological developments, further investments in intelligence capabilities and infrastructure are needed. These will ensure CSIS can continue to protect Canadians.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $655.7 million over eight years, starting in 2024-25, with $191.1 million in remaining amortization, and $114.7 million ongoing to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to enhance its intelligence capabilities, and its presence in Toronto.
Maintaining a Robust Arctic Presence
The Canadian Arctic is warming four times faster than the world average, as a result of climate change. It is also where we share a border with today’s most hostile nuclear power—Russia. The shared imperatives of researching climate change where its impacts are most severe, and maintaining an ongoing presence in the Arctic enable Canada to advance this important scientific work and assert our sovereignty.
Maintaining a robust research presence supports Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. Scientific and research operations in the Arctic advance our understanding of how climate change is affecting people, the economy, and the environment in the region. This is an important competitive advantage, as economic competition increases in the region.
To support research operations in Canada’s North, Budget 2024 proposes:
$46.9 million over five years starting in 2024-25, with $8.5 million in remaining amortization and $11.1 million ongoing, to Natural Resources Canada to renew the Polar Continental Shelf Program to continue supporting northern research logistics, such as lodging and flights for scientists; and,
$3.5 million in 2024-25 to Polar Knowledge Canada to support its activities, including the operation of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station.
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Protecting Canadians from Financial Crimes
Financial crimes are serious threats to public safety, national security, and Canada’s financial system. They can range from terrorist financing, corruption, and the evasion of sanctions, to money laundering, fraud, and tax evasion. These crimes have real world implications, often enabling other criminal behaviour. Financial crime also undermines the fairness and transparency that are so essential to our economy.
Since 2017, the government has undertaken significant work to crack down on financial crime:
Investing close to $320 million since 2019 to strengthen compliance, financial intelligence, information sharing, and investigative capacity to support money laundering investigations;
Creating new Integrated Money Laundering Investigative Teams in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, which convene experts to advance investigations into money laundering, supported by dedicated forensic accounting experts;
Launching a publicly accessible beneficial ownership registry for federal corporations on January 22, 2024. The government continues to call upon provinces and territories to advance a pan-Canadian approach to beneficial ownership transparency;
Modernizing Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing framework to adapt to emerging technologies; vulnerable sectors; and growing risks such as sanctions evasion; and,
Establishing public-private partnerships with the financial sector, that are improving the detection and disruption of profit-oriented crimes, including human trafficking, online child sexual exploitation, and fentanyl trafficking.
Budget 2024 takes further action to protect Canadians from financial crimes.
Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing
Criminal and terrorist organizations continually look for new ways to perpetrate illicit activities. Canada needs a robust legal framework that keeps pace with evolving financial crimes threats.
To combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion, Budget 2024 announces:
The government intends to introduce legislative amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), the Criminal Code the Income Tax Act, and the Excise Tax Act.
Proposed amendments to the PCMLTFA would:
Enhance the ability of reporting entities under the PCMLTFA to share information with each other to detect and deter money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion, while maintaining privacy protections for personal information, including an oversight role for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner under regulations;
Permit the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) to disclose financial intelligence to provincial and territorial civil forfeiture offices to support efforts to seize property linked to unlawful activity; and, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to strengthen the integrity of Canada’s citizenship process;
Enable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulatory obligations to cover factoring companies, cheque cashing businesses, and leasing and finance companies to close a loophole and level the playing field across businesses providing financial services;
Allow FINTRAC to publicize more information around violations of obligations under the PCMLTFA when issuing administrative monetary penalties to strengthen transparency and compliance; and,
Make technical amendments to close loopholes and correct inconsistencies.
Proposed amendments to the Criminal Code would:
Allow courts to issue an order to require a financial institution to keep an account open to assist in the investigation of a suspected criminal offence; and,
Allow courts to issue a repeating production order to authorize law enforcement to obtain ongoing, specified information on activity in an account or multiple accounts connected to a person of interest in a criminal investigation.
Proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act would:
Ensure Canada Revenue Agency officials who carry out criminal investigations are authorized to seek general warrants through court applications, thereby modernizing and simplifying evidence gathering processes and helping to fight tax evasion and other financial crimes.
Canada Financial Crimes Agency
As announced in Budget 2023, the Canada Financial Crimes Agency (CFCA) will become Canada’s lead enforcement agency against financial crime. It will bring together expertise necessary to increase money laundering charges, prosecutions, and convictions, and the seizure of criminal assets.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $1.7 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, to the Department of Finance to finalize the design and legal framework for the CFCA.
Fighting Trade-Based Fraud and Money Laundering
Trade-based financial crime is one of the most pervasive means of laundering money; it’s estimated that this is how hundreds of millions of dollars are laundered each year. To strengthen efforts to fight trade fraud and money laundering, the 2023Fall Economic Statement announced enhancements to the Canada Border Services Agency’s authorities under the PCMLTFA to combat trade-based financial crime and the intent to create a Trade Transparency Unit.
Budget 2024 builds on this work by proposing to provide $29.9 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $5.1 million in remaining amortization and $4.2 million ongoing, for the Canada Border Services Agency to support the implementation of its new authorities under the PCMLTFA to combat financial crime and strengthen efforts to combat international financial crime with our allies.
Supporting Veterans’ Well-Being
After their service and their sacrifice, veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces deserve our full support. Veterans’ organizations are often best placed to understand the needs of veterans and to develop programming that improves their quality of life. In 2018, the federal government launched the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund, which provides funding to public, private, and academic organizations, to advance research projects and innovative approaches to deliver services to veterans and their families.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide an additional $6 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to Veterans Affairs Canada for the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund. A portion of the funding will focus on projects for Indigenous, women, and 2SLGBTQI+ veterans.
Telemedicine Services for Veterans and Their Families
After serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, many veterans who previously received their health care from the Forces need to find a family doctor in the provincial system, which makes their transition to civilian life more stressful, especially if they need health care for service-related injuries.
To ensure veterans and their families have access to the care they deserve after their service to Canada:
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $9.3 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to Veterans Affairs Canada to extend and expand the Veteran Family Telemedicine Service pilot for another three years. This initiative will provide up to two years of telemedicine services to recent veterans and their families.
The system of rules and institutions that were established in the wake of the Second World War unleashed an era of prosperity unprecedented in human history. This era generated a massive expansion of global trade, and lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. As a trading nation with privileged access to more than two-thirds of the global economy, Canada has benefitted enormously from the stability and certainty that this system provided.
Supply chain disruptions and rising protectionism threaten this Canadian advantage that has been enjoyed for generations. Canada is taking action to make sure we preserve the rules-based international order. We are strengthening our trade relationships and making sure they reflect our values. We are ensuring our economy is resilient and secure, protecting Canadians and Canada from economic pressure from authoritarian regimes, and defending Canada’s economic interests.
Budget 2024 makes investments to ensure the opportunities and prosperity of trade, enjoyed by generations of Canadians, continue to be there for every generation.
Key Ongoing Actions
Launching in 2017 Strong, Secure, Engaged, to maintain the Canadian Armed Forces as an agile, multi-purpose, combat-ready force, ensuring Canada is strong domestically, an active partner in North America, and engaged internationally.
Upholding Canada’s 15 free trade agreements with 51 countries. Canada is the only G7 country with comprehensive trade and investment agreements with all other G7 members.
Implementing the modernized Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement and the United Kingdom’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Establishing a new Canada-Taiwan foreign investment promotion and protection arrangement in December 2023.
Launching Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy in November 2022, committing almost $2.3 billion to strengthen Canada’s role as a strong partner in the region. The strategy included:
$492.9 million over five years to reinforce Canada’s Indo-Pacific naval presence and increase Canadian Armed Forces participation in regional military exercises.
$227.8 million over five years to increase Canada’s work with partners in the region on national security, cyber security, and responses to crime, terrorism, and threats from weapons proliferation.
Canada is negotiating free trade agreements with Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to provide additional trade and investment opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region.
To further reinforce Canada’s role as a trusted supply chain partner, and its commitment to cooperate with like-minded partners in meeting emerging global challenges, including the economic resilience of the world’s democracies, Canada undertook the following actions:
Joined with the U.S. in the Energy Transformation Task Force to accelerate cooperation on critical clean energy opportunities and to strengthen integrated Canada-U.S. supply chains, which as announced in Chapter 4, has been extended for another year.
Canada signed a new agreement in May 2023 with South Korea for cooperation on critical mineral supply chains, clean energy transition, and energy security.
Canada endorsed the Joint Declaration Against Trade-Related Economic Coercion and Non-Market Policies and Practices with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. in June 2023.
Protecting Canadian Businesses from Unfair Foreign Competition
Canadian companies and workers are able to do business around the world, selling their goods and expertise, because the government has delivered free trade agreements that cover 61 per cent of the world’s GDP and 1.5 billion consumers. This means Canadians can do business in Japan and Malaysia with the CPTPP; in Europe with CETA; in the United States and Mexico with the new NAFTA; and in Ukraine with a modernized CUFTA. These agreements mean good jobs and good salaries for people across the country.
However, this is only true when Canadian workers and businesses are competing on an even playing field, and countries respect agreed trade rules.
That is why the government has taken steps to ensure that Canada’s trade remedy and import monitoring systems have the tools needed to defend Canadian workers and businesses from unfair practices of foreign competitors. For instance, earlier this year, Canada introduced a system to track the countries steel imports are initially melted and poured in, to increase supply chain transparency and support effective enforcement of Canada’s trade laws.
Budget 2024 proposes to provide $10.5 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, for the Canada Border Services Agency to create a dedicated Market Watch Unit to monitor and update trade remedy measures annually, to protect Canadian workers and businesses from unfair trade practices, and ensure greater transparency and market predictability.
Ensuring Reciprocal Treatment for Canadian Businesses Abroad
Canada is taking action to protect Canadian businesses and workers from additional global economic and trade challenges. These challenges include protectionist and non-market policies and practices implemented by our trading partners. When Canada opens its markets to goods and services from other countries, we expect those countries to equally grant Canadian businesses the access that we provide their companies.
As detailed in the Policy Statement on Ensuring Reciprocal Treatment for Canadian Businesses Abroad, published alongside the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, Canada will consider reciprocity as a key design element for new policies going forward. This approach builds on Canada’s commitment to implement reciprocal procurement policies, including for infrastructure and sub-national infrastructure spending, in the near term. A reciprocal lens will also be applied to a range of new measures including, but not limited to, investment tax incentives, grants and contributions, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, investment restrictions, and intellectual property requirements.
In pursuing reciprocity, Canada will continue working with its allies to introduce incentives for businesses to reorient supply chains to trusted, reliable partners, and will ensure that any new measures do not unnecessarily harm trading partners who do not discriminate against Canadian goods and suppliers.
Protecting Critical Supply Chains
Recent events around the world, from the pandemic to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, have exposed strategic vulnerabilities in critical supply chains, to which Canada and countries around the world are responding by derisking, or friendshoring, their supply chains. Canada is actively working with its allies to strengthen shared supply chains and deepen our economic ties with trusted partners, including in the context of accelerating the transition to a net-zero economy.
Ongoing efforts to build our critical supply chains through democracies like our own represent a significant economic opportunity for Canadian businesses and workers, and the government will continue to design domestic policies and programs with friendshoring as a top-of-mind objective.
To reinforce Canada’s role as a trusted supply chain partner for our allies, Budget 2023 took action to mobilize private investment and grow Canada’s economy towards net-zero. These investments are growing Canada’s economic capacity in industries across the economy, while simultaneously reducing Canada’s emissions and strengthening our essential trading relationships.
Eradicating Forced Labour from Canadian Supply Chains
Canada is gravely concerned by the ongoing human rights violations against Uyghurs and Muslim minorities in China, as well as by the use of forced labour around the world.
Budget 2024 reaffirms the federal government’s commitment to introduce legislation in 2024 to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains and to strengthen the import ban on goods produced with forced labour. The government will also work to ensure existing legislation fits within the overall framework to safeguard our supply chains.
This will build on funding committed in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement that, starting January 1, 2024, supports the requirement for annual reporting from public and private entities to demonstrate measures they have taken to prevent and reduce the risk that forced labour is used in their supply chains.
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Before moving on to an interesting analysis of the defence portion of the 2024 budget by someone else, here’s a link to the national defence policy, Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence, which was released on April 8, 2024 just days before the April 16, 2024 release date for this latest federal budget.
It seems there was a shift in policy during the nine-day interval. From Murray Brewster’s April 16, 2024 article for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) news online website, Note: Links have been removed,
The new federal budget promises good things will happen at the Department of National Defence … next year, and hopefully in the years after.
The new fiscal plan, presented Tuesday by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, marks a subtle but significant shift from what was proposed in last week’s long-awaited defence policy [emphasis mine], which committed to spending an additional $8.1 billion on defence.
The funding envelope in the budget earmarks the same amount but includes not only the defence department but proposed spending on both the Communications Security Establishment — the country’s electronic spy agency — and Global Affairs Canada. [emphases mine]
While the overall defence budget is expected to increase marginally in the current fiscal year to $33.8 billion, defence experts told CBC News that when the internal cost-cutting exercise ordered by the Liberal government and the new defence policy are factored in, the military can expect roughly $635 million less this year [emphasis mine] than was anticipated before spending restraint kicked in.
Freeland’s fiscal plan projects a 30 per cent increase in defence spending in the next fiscal year, bringing it to $44.2 billion.
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This is how I understand what Brewster is saying:
2024/25 defence budget as listed is $33.8B
Not all of this money is going directly to defence (the Communications Security Establishment and Global Affairs Canada will be partaking)
the defence department has been ordered to cut costs
so, there will be $635M less than defence might have expected
in 2025/26 defence spending will be increased to $44.2 billion, whatever that means
That’s quite the dance and Brewster’s April 16, 2024 article points out at least one more weakness,
Sahir Khan, the executive vice-president of the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, said he would love to see the specifics.
“That’s one of the difficulties, I think, with this government is we have seen a lot of aspiration, but not always the perspiration,” said Khan, a former deputy parliamentary budget officer. “What is the plan to achieve the results?”
The politically charged promise to increase Canada’s defence spending to 1.76 per cent of the gross domestic product by the end of the decade could be left in doubt when the spending plans are laid alongside the budget’s economic projections during that time frame.
Generally, the better the economy does, the more the defence budget would have to be increased to meet the target.
“It’s really unclear how we actually get to 1.76 per cent of GDP, if you take the figures that are presented which outline how spending is going to increase,” said Dave Perry, a defence expert and president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
“You can’t put that against the nominal GDP projection provided in the budget” and then add in other government departments, such as Veterans Affairs Canada, “and get anywhere close” to the GDP projection in the defence policy, he said.
About five weeks after the budget was released, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received a letter, from a May 23, 2024 article by Alexander Panetta for CBC News online,
Nearly one-quarter of the members of the United States Senate have sent an unusually critical letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressing dismay over Canada’s level of defence spending.
They pressed Trudeau to come to this summer’s NATO summit with a plan to fulfil Canada’s commitment to reach the alliance’s longstanding spending target.
The letter from 23 members of the U.S. Senate, from both parties, represents a dramatic and public escalation of pressure from Washington over a longstanding bilateral irritant.
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That written critique [letter] comes just days after Defence Minister Bill Blair completed what he referred to as a productive trip to Washington to promote Canada’s new military strategy.
“We are concerned and profoundly disappointed,” says the letter, referring to the spending levels in the strategy Blair came to promote.
A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators say they expect Canada and the U.S. to work collaboratively on shared issues of defence and the border, but suggested Ottawa’s policies on military spending need to change to speed up progress.
Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson from the Halifax International Security Forum in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block, Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire downplayed concerns that incoming president-elect Donald Trump will penalize Canada on things like trade if it doesn’t step up on defence spending.
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As far as I’m concerned, this budget offers some moderate gains from a science and technology perspective and with regard to military spending, it seems a little lacklustre overall and with regard to military research, that might be called nonexistent.
Sense about Science is a UK “independent charity that promotes the public interest in sound science and evidence,” according to the organization’s homepage. An October 29, 2024 Sense About Science announcement arrived in my email box (also online here),
Unfortunately, we don’t yet live in a world where it is safe for researchers to always speak out openly and honestly about research findings, even when it is important for society that they do so. We need to be able to ask difficult and sometimes uncomfortable scientific questions if we are to make decisions that affect the lives of many on the best available evidence.
Fortunately, however, there are brave researchers around the world who bringing evidence to public debate despite the potential of facing harassment or intimidation. The Maddox Prize is awarded by Springer Nature and Sense about Science to individuals who have shown courage and integrity in standing up for sound science and evidence and encourages others to do the same.
This year the judges have shortlisted 8 inspiring individuals from all the nominations received. They are:
Patrick Ball for his rigorous statistical work identifying, cataloguing and prosecuting war crimes. Patrick founded the Human Rights Data Analyst Group (HRDAG) and has spent over thirty years producing analysis for truth commissions, non-governmental organisations, international criminal tribunals and United Nations missions.
Kelly Cobey for her work implementing open science and championing the need to reform research assessment. Kelly is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, where she is also director of the Metaresearch and Open Science programme.
Sholto David for his active role in identifying fabricated studies and results and protecting the integrity of science. Sholto is an analytical scientist with a PhD in cell and molecular biology from Newcastle University.
Ann McNeill for her work on studying interventions to reduce threats posed by cigarette smoking. Ann is a Professor of Tobacco Addiction in the National Addiction Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Ben Mol for his work exposing scientific fraud in obstetrics and gynaecology research and removing fabricated papers from the literature. Ben is a Professor of obstetrics/gynaecology at Monash University in Australia.
John Nkengasong for conducting epidemiological studies of the COVID-19 virus in Africa whilst he was the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. His efforts played a huge part in protecting the African population from COVID-19 despite challenges such as testing in regions of conflict. John is a virologist currently serving as the Global AIDS Coordinator in the Biden administration.
Shiba Subedi for his dedication campaigning in Nepali society for better awareness and preparedness for earthquakes. Shiba currently works as a seismologist at the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology.
Carola Vinuesa for her work using genetic sequencing to prevent unwarranted accusation of parents that they have harmed their children. Carola is internationally renowned for her discoveries in genetic causes of autoimmunity, and currently works at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
The October 2024 issue of The Advance (Council of Canadian Academies [CCA] newsletter) arrived in my emailbox on October 15, 2024 with some interesting tidbits about artificial intelligence, Note: For anyone who wants to see the entire newsletter for themselves, you can sign up here or in French, vous pouvez vous abonner ici,
Artificial Intelligence and Canada’s Science Diplomacy Future
For nearly two decades, Canada has been a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) research, contributing a significant percentage of the world’s top-cited scientific publications on the subject. In that time, the number of countries participating in international collaborations has grown significantly, supporting new partnerships and accounting for as much as one quarter of all published research articles.
“Opportunities for partnerships are growing rapidly alongside the increasing complexity of new scientific discoveries and emerging industry sectors,” wrote the CCA Expert Panel on International Science, Technology, Innovation and Knowledge Partnerships earlier this year, singling out Canada’s AI expertise. “At the same time, discussions of sovereignty and national interests abut the movement toward open science and transdisciplinary approaches.”
On Friday, November 22 [2024], the CCA will host “Strategy and Influence: AI and Canada’s Science Diplomacy Future” as part of the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) annual conference. The panel discussion will draw on case studies related to AI research collaboration to explore the ways in which such partnerships inform science diplomacy. Panellists include:
Monica Gattinger, chair of the CCA Expert Panel on International Science, Technology, Innovation and Knowledge Partnerships and director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa (picture omitted)
David Barnes, head of the British High Commission Science, Climate, and Energy Team
Constanza Conti, Professor of Numerical Analysis at the University of Florence and Scientific Attaché at the Italian Embassy in Ottawa
Jean-François Doulet, Attaché for Science and Higher Education at the Embassy of France in Canada
Konstantinos Kapsouropoulos, Digital and Research Counsellor at the Delegation of the European Union to Canada
For details on CSPC 2024, click here. [Here’s the theme and a few more details about the conference: Empowering Society: The Transformative Value of Science, Knowledge, and Innovation; The 16th annual Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) will be held in person from November 20th to 22nd, 2024] For a user guide to Navigating Collaborative Futures, from the CCA’s Expert Panel on International Science, Technology, Innovation and Knowledge Partnerships, click here.
448: Strategy and Influence: AI and Canada’s Science Diplomacy Future
Friday, November 22 [2024] 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm EST
Science and International Affairs and Security
About
Organized By: Council of Canadian Academies (CCA)
Artificial intelligence has already begun to transform Canada’s economy and society, and the broader advantages of international collaboration in AI research have the potential to make an even greater impact. With three national AI institutes and a Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, Canada’s AI ecosystem is thriving and positions the country to build stronger international partnerships in this area, and to develop more meaningful international collaborations in other areas of innovation. This panel will convene science attachés to share perspectives on science diplomacy and partnerships, drawing on case studies related to AI research collaboration.
The newsletter also provides links to additional readings on various topics, here are the AI items,
In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Emmanuel Macron of France renewed their commitment “to strengthening economic exchanges between Canadian and French AI ecosystems.” They also revealed that Canada would be named Country of the Year at Viva Technology’s annual conference, to be held next June in Paris.
A “slower, but more capable” version of OpenAI is impressing scientists with the strength of its responses to prompts, according to Nature. The new version, referred to as “o1,” outperformed a previous ChatGPT model on a standardized test involving chemistry, physics, and biology questions, and “beat PhD-level scholars on the hardest series of questions.” [Note: As of October 16, 2024, the Nature news article of October 1, 2024 appears to be open access. It’s unclear how long this will continue to be the case.]
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In memoriam: Abhishek Gupta, the founder and principal researcher of the Montreal AI Ethics Institute and a member of the CCA Expert Panel on Artificial Intelligence for Science and Engineering, died on September 30 [2024]. His colleagues shared the news in a memorial post, writing, “It was during his time in Montreal that Abhishek envisioned a future where ethics and AI would intertwine—a vision that became the driving force behind his life’s work.”
Meeting in Ottawa on September 26, 2024, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, and Emmanuel Macron, the President of the French Republic, issued a call to action to promote the development of a responsible approach to artificial intelligence (AI).
Our two countries will increase the coordination of our actions, as Canada will assume the Presidency of the G7 in 2025 and France will host the AI Action Summit on February 10 and 11, 2025.
Our two countries are working on the development and use of safe, secure and trustworthy AI as part of a risk-aware, human-centred and innovation-friendly approach. This cooperation is based on shared values. We believe that the development and use of AI need to be beneficial for individuals and the planet, for example by increasing human capabilities and developing creativity, ensuring the inclusion of under-represented people, reducing economic, social, gender and other inequalities, protecting information integrity and protecting natural environments, which in turn will promote inclusive growth, well-being, sustainable development and environmental sustainability.
We are committed to promoting the development and use of AI systems that respect the rule of law, human rights, democratic values and human-centred values. Respecting these values means developing and using AI systems that are transparent and explainable, robust, safe and secure, and whose stakeholders are held accountable for respecting these principles, in line with the Recommendation of the OECD Council on Artificial Intelligence, the Hiroshima AI Process, the G20 AI Principles and the International Partnership for Information and Democracy.
Based on these values and principles, Canada and France are working on high-quality scientific cooperation. In April 2023, we formalized the creation of a joint committee for science, technology and innovation. This committee has identified emerging technologies, including AI, as one of the priorities areas for cooperation between our two countries. In this context, a call for AI research projects was announced last July, scheduled for the end of 2024 and funded, on the French side, by the French National Research Agency, and, on the Canadian side, by a consortium made up of Canada’s three granting councils (the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research) and IVADO [Institut de valorisation des données], the AI research, training and transfer consortium.
We will also collaborate on the evaluation and safety of AI models. We have announced key AI safety initiatives, including the AI Safety Institute of Canada [emphasis mine; not to be confused with Artificial Intelligence Governance & Safety Canada (AIGS)], which will be launched soon, and France’s National Centre for AI evaluation. We expect these two agencies will work to improve knowledge and understanding of technical and socio-technical aspects related to the safety and evaluation of advanced AI systems.
Canada and France are committed to strengthening economic exchanges between Canadian and French AI ecosystems, whether by organizing delegations, like the one organized by Scale AI with 60 Canadian companies at the latest Viva Technology conference in Paris, or showcasing France at the ALL IN event in Montréal on September 11 and 12, 2024, through cooperation between companies, for example, through large companies’ adoption of services provided by small companies or through the financial support that investment funds provide to companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Our two countries will continue their cooperation at the upcoming Viva Technology conference in Paris, where Canada will be the Country of the Year.
We want to strengthen our cooperation in terms of developing AI capabilities. We specifically want to promote access to AI’s compute capabilities in order to support national and international technological advances in research and business, notably in emerging markets and developing countries, while committing to strengthening their efforts to make the necessary improvements to the energy efficiency of these infrastructures. We are also committed to sharing their experience in initiatives to develop AI skills and training in order to accelerate workforce deployment.
Canada and France cooperate on the international stage to ensure the alignment and convergence of AI regulatory frameworks, given the economic potential and the global social consequences of this technological revolution. Under our successive G7 presidencies in 2018 and 2019, we worked to launch the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), which now has 29 members from all over the world, and whose first two centres of expertise were opened in Montréal and Paris. We support the creation of the new integrated partnership, which brings together OECD and GPAI member countries, and welcomes new members, including emerging and developing economies. We hope that the implementation of this new model will make it easier to participate in joint research projects that are of public interest, reduce the global digital divide and support constructive debate between the various partners on standards and the interoperability of their AI-related regulations.
We will continue our cooperation at the AI Action Summit in France on February 10 and 11, 2025, where we will strive to find solutions to meet our common objectives, such as the fight against disinformation or the reduction of the environmental impact of AI. With the objective of actively and tangibly promoting the use of the French language in the creation, production, distribution and dissemination of AI, taking into account its richness and diversity, and in compliance with copyright, we will attempt to identify solutions that are in line with the five themes of the summit: AI that serves the public interest, the future of work, innovation and culture, trust in AI and global AI governance.
Canada has accepted to co-chair the working group on global AI governance in order to continue the work already carried out by the GPAI, the OECD, the United Nations and its various bodies, the G7 and the G20. We would like to highlight and advance debates on the cultural challenges of AI in order to accelerate the joint development of relevant responses to the challenges faced. We would also like to develop the change management policies needed to support all of the affected cultural sectors. We will continue these discussions together during our successive G7 presidencies in 2025 and 2026.
I checked out the In memoriam notice for Abhishek Gupta and found this, Note: Links have been removed except the link to the Abhishek Gupta’s memorial page hosting tributes, stories, and more. The link is in the highlighted paragraph,
Honoring the Life and Legacy of a Leader in AI Ethics
In accordance with his family’s wishes, it is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Abhishek Gupta, Founder and Principal Researcher of the Montreal AI Ethics Institute (MAIEI), Director for Responsible AI at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and a pioneering voice in the field of AI ethics. Abhishek passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 30, 2024 in India, surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his father, Ashok Kumar Gupta; his mother, Asha Gupta; and his younger brother, Abhijay Gupta.
Note: Details of a memorial service will be announced in the coming weeks. For those who wish to share stories, personal anecdotes, and photos of Abhishek, please visit www.forevermissed.com/abhishekgupta — your contributions will be greatly appreciated by his family and loved ones.
Born on December 20, 1992, in India, Abhishek’s intellectual curiosity and drive to understand technology led him on a remarkable journey. After excelling at Delhi Public School, Abhishek attended McGill University in Montreal, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSc’15). Following his graduation, Abhishek worked as a software engineer at Ericsson. He later joined Microsoft as a machine learning engineer, where he also served on the CSE Responsible AI Board. It was during his time in Montreal that Abhishek envisioned a future where ethics and AI would intertwine—a vision that became the driving force behind his life’s work.
The Beginnings: Building a Global AI Ethics Community
Abhishek’s vision for MAIEI was rooted in community building. He began hosting in-person AI Ethics Meetups in Montreal throughout 2017. These gatherings were unique—participants completed assigned readings in advance, split into small groups for discussion, and then reconvened to share insights. This approach fostered deep, structured conversations and made AI ethics accessible to everyone, regardless of their background. The conversations and insights from these meetups became the foundation of MAIEI, which was launched in May 2018.
When the pandemic hit, Abhishek adapted the meetup format to an online setting, enabling MAIEI to expand worldwide. It was his idea to bring these conversations to a global stage, using virtual platforms to ensure voices from all corners of the world could join in. He passionately stood up for the “little guy,” making sure that those whose voices might be overlooked or unheard in traditional forums had a platform. Under his stewardship, MAIEI emerged as a globally recognized leader in fostering public discussions on the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. Through MAIEI, Abhishek fulfilled his mission of democratizing AI ethics literacy, empowering individuals from all backgrounds to engage with the future of technology.
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I offer my sympathies to his family, friends, and communities for their profound loss.
An October 9, 2024 notice from the Wilson Center (or Woodrow Wilson Center or Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars received via email) announces an annual event, which this year will focus on AI (artificial intelligence),
The 2024 Canada-US Legal Symposium | Artificial Intelligence Regulation, Governance, and Liability
Tuesday Oct. 29, 2024 9:30am – 2:00pm ET 6th Floor Flom Auditorium, Woodrow Wilson Center
Time is running out to RSVP for the 2024 Canada-US Legal Symposium!
This year’s program will address artificial intelligence (AI) governance, regulation, and liability. High-profile advances in AI over the past four years have raised serious legal questions about the development, integration, and use of the technology. Canada and the United States, longtime leaders in innovation and hubs for some of the world’s top AI companies, are poised to lead in developing a model for responsible AI policy.
This event is co-organized with the Science, Technology, and Innovation Program and the Canada-US Law Institute.
The event page for The 2024 Canada-US Legal Symposium | Artificial Intelligence Regulation, Governance, and Liability gives you the option of an RSVP to attend the virtual or in-person event.
For more about international AI usage and regulation efforts, there’s the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program CTRL Forward blog. Here’s a sampling of some of the most recent postings, Note: CTRL Forward postings cover a wide range of science/technology topics often noting how the international scene is affected; it seems September saw a major focus on AI
For anyone curious about the current state of Canadian legislation and artificial intelligence, I have a May 1, 2023 posting which offers an overview of the current state of affairs, (Note: The bill has yet to be passed)
Bill C-27 (Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022) is what I believe is called an omnibus bill as it includes three different pieces of proposed legislation (the Consumer Privacy Protection Act [CPPA], the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act [AIDA], and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act [PIDPTA]). You can read the Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada summary here or a detailed series of descriptions of the act here on the ISED’s Canada’s Digital Charter webpage.
You can find more up-to-date information about the status of the Committee’s Bill-27 meetings on this webpage where it appears that September 26, 2024 was the committee’s most recent meeting. If you click on the highlighted meeting dates, you will be given the option of watching a webcast of the meeting. The webpage will also give you access to a list of witnesses, the briefs and the briefs themselves.
This September 19, 2024 announcement (received via email) from the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) features an application deadline for the 2025 Science Meets Parliament (SMP) initiative and information about two upcoming provincial editions,
CSPC is excited to announce that applications for Science Meets Parliament (SMP) 2025 are now open!
This year, CSPC is thrilled to expand the program with the inaugural launch of Science Meets Parliament in Ontario, along with the continued success of the Federal and British Columbia programs.
Science Meets Parliament is a transformative program designed to foster stronger connections between the science and policy communities. The program provides unique opportunities for Early Career Researchers to engage with policymakers, gain a deeper understanding of the policymaking process, and contribute to evidence-informed decisions.
This year’s deadline to apply for the SMP programs is November 8, 2024!
SMP Federal Interested in connecting with federal policymakers and experiencing the heartbeat of national decision-making? SMP Federal is a joint program with the Office of Chief Science Advisor and is a platform for researchers to learn about policymaking at the Federal Parliament and interact with Members of Parliament.
Click here to find out more information and to apply for SMP Federal.
SMP Ontario – New! We are excited to introduce the first-ever Science Meets Parliament Ontario! This new program offers Ontario-based researchers the opportunity to connect with provincial policymakers and learn about policymaking at the provincial level.
Click here to find out more information and to apply for SMP Ontario.
SMP British Columbia SMP BC continues to provide opportunities to meet with provincial policymakers, build relationships, and learn about policymaking at the provincial level.
Click here to find out more information and to apply for SMP BC.
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There’s also the French language version,
Le CPSC est heureux d’annoncer que les candidatures pour l’édition 2025 du programme la SRP sont présentement acceptées!
Cette année, le CSPC est ravi d’élargir la portée du programme avec le lancement du programme La science rencontre le Parlement – Ontario qui vient s’ajouter aux programmes fédéral et de la Colombie-Britannique.
Le programme la SRP est une initiative novatrice visant à renforcer les liens entre les communautés scientifique et politique. Il offre aux chercheurs en début de carrière une opportunité exceptionnelle d’interagir avec des décideurs politiques, de mieux comprendre le processus d’élaboration des politiques et de contribuer à une prise de décisions éclairées, fondées sur des données probantes.
La date limite pour soumettre votre candidature pour l’un des programmes la SRC est le 8 novembre 2024!
La SRP – programme fédéral Vous souhaitez entrer en contact avec les décideurs politiques fédéraux et découvrir le rythme cardiaque de la prise de décision nationale ? SRP Federal est un programme conjoint avec le Bureau du conseiller scientifique en chef et constitue une plate-forme permettant aux chercheurs de se renseigner sur l’élaboration des politiques au Parlement fédéral et d’interagir avec les députés.
Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus et soumettre votre candidature au programme fédéral la SRP.
La SRP – Ontario Nouveauté! Nous sommes ravis de vous présenter le tout premier programme La science rencontre le Parlement de l’Ontario ! Ce nouveau programme offre aux chercheurs basés en Ontario l’occasion d’entrer en contact avec les décideurs politiques provinciaux et d’en apprendre davantage sur l’élaboration des politiques au niveau provincial
Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus et soumettre votre candidature pour le programme La SRP- Ontario.
La SRP – Colombie-Britannique SRP BC continue d’offrir des occasions de rencontrer des décideurs politiques provinciaux, d’établir des relations et d’en apprendre davantage sur l’élaboration de politiques au niveau provincial.
Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus et soumettre votre candidature pour le programme La SRP- Colombie-Britannique.
The Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) and the Office of the Chief Science Advisor (OCSA) are pleased to announce the fifth edition of the Science Meets Parliament Program. The applications are now being accepted for the program and the program is scheduled to take place in Ottawa in spring (late April/early May) 2025 [emphasis mine], with the in-person event taking place over two days (Monday-Tuesday), subject to Parliament being in session. In the event of an election, the timing of the program may be delayed.
CSPC and OCSA are pleased to present the 2025 edition of Science Meets Parliament (SMP) to continue to strengthen the connection between the science and policy communities. This program provides an excellent opportunity for researchers to learn about the inclusion of scientific evidence in policymaking in Parliament.
This year marks the fifth Science Meets Parliament program since its inauguration in 2018. During these events, more than 150 emerging leaders of the scientific community from across Canada were brought to the Canadian Parliament for extensive meetings with Parliamentarians, and attendance at the House and Senate standing committees. Scientists were able to learn first-hand about Parliamentary work, and the role of science in policymaking, and discuss their research with Parliamentarians.
The Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) is pleased to announce the inaugural edition of the Science Meets Parliament Program in Ontario with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Honourable Ted Arnott. The applications are now being accepted for the program and the program is scheduled to take place in Toronto in spring (mid/late March) 2025 [emphasis mine], with the in-person event taking place over two days (Monday-Tuesday), subject to Parliament being in session. In the event of an election, the timing of the program may be delayed.
The Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) is pleased to announce the second edition of the Science Meets Parliament Program in BC with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The applications are now being accepted for the program and the program is scheduled to take place in Victoria in spring (mid/late April) 2025 [emphasis mine], with the in-person event taking place over two days (Monday-Tuesday), subject to Parliament being in session. In the event of an election, the timing of the program may be delayed.
Le Centre canadien des politiques scientifiques (CCPS) et le Bureau de la conseillère scientifique en chef (BCSC) sont heureux d’annoncer la cinquième édition du programme La science au service du Parlement. Les demandes sont maintenant acceptées et le programme devrait se dérouler à Ottawa au printemps (fin avril/début mai) 2025, l’événement en personne se déroulant sur deux jours (du lundi au mardi), sous réserve que le Parlement soit en session. En cas d’élection, le calendrier du programme pourrait être retardé.
Le CSPC et l’OCSA sont heureux de présenter l’édition 2025 de Science Meets Parliament (SMP) afin de continuer à renforcer les liens entre les communautés scientifiques et politiques. Ce programme offre une excellente occasion aux chercheurs d’en apprendre davantage sur l’inclusion des preuves scientifiques dans l’élaboration des politiques au Parlement.
Cette année marque la cinquième édition du programme La science à la rencontre du Parlement depuis son inauguration en 2018. Au cours de ces événements, plus de 150 leaders émergents de la communauté scientifique de partout au Canada ont été invités au Parlement canadien pour des réunions approfondies avec des parlementaires et pour assister aux travaux des comités permanents de la Chambre et du Sénat. Les scientifiques ont pu en apprendre davantage sur le travail parlementaire et le rôle de la science dans l’élaboration des politiques, et discuter de leurs recherches avec les parlementaires.
Le Centre canadien sur les politiques scientifiques (CCPS) est heureux d’annoncer la première édition du programme La science au service du Parlement en Ontario, avec le président de l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario, l’honorable Ted Arnott. Les candidatures sont maintenant acceptées et le programme devrait avoir lieu à Toronto au printemps (mi-/fin mars) 2025, l’événement en personne se déroulant sur deux jours (du lundi au mardi), sous réserve que le Parlement soit en session. En cas d’élection, le calendrier du programme pourrait être retardé.
Le Centre canadien sur les politiques scientifiques (CCPS) est heureux d’annoncer la deuxième édition du programme « La science rencontre le Parlement » en Colombie-Britannique avec le président de l’Assemblée législative de la Colombie-Britannique. Les candidatures sont maintenant acceptées et le programme devrait avoir lieu à Victoria au printemps (mi-/fin avril) 2025, l’événement en personne se déroulant sur deux jours (du lundi au mardi), sous réserve que le Parlement soit en session. En cas d’élection, le calendrier du programme pourrait être retardé.