Canada announced on October 13 that an additional $500 million over five years is available through the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative. The government says the expansion brings the initiative's total federal funding to $700 million.
Regional agencies will deliver the program
Canada says regional development agencies will administer support for businesses and organizations adopting AI and for Canadian-made products moving toward commercialization. The listed priority areas include health and life sciences, energy and natural resources, transport, agriculture, manufacturing and robotics.
The $500 million is a new program allocation over five years, not a report of funds already paid out. The announcement says applications are being accepted and gives different regional timelines; the final amounts awarded to individual projects are not yet specified.