Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming global economies, with the potential to add $187 billion annually to the Canadian economy by 2030. Yet, despite this promise, Ontario businesses and workers’ slow AI adoption risks undermining Canada’s competitiveness.
To address this gap, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), in collaboration with Microsoft Canada, has released Future-Proofing Ontario: Empowering Businesses with AI Skills — a policy primer that explores AI’s economic potential, identifies barriers to adoption, and presents scalable initiatives to build an AI-fluent workforce and business ecosystem.
Although AI holds immense promise for driving productivity and innovation, its adoption remains low: only six per cent of Canadian businesses report using AI tools, and just 31 per cent of Canadians trust generative AI. The primer calls for urgent, sustained action to equip Ontario’s workforce with the skills and confidence needed to responsibly harness AI and unleash inclusive economic growth.
inclusive economic growth.
Key recommendations include:
- Lead by Example: Governments must model responsible, transparent AI use to build public trust, implement service delivery and set the tone for industry adoption.
- All Hands-on-Tech: Deepen collaboration across government, academia, and industry to accelerate innovation and skills development.
- Start Small, Win Big: Invest in accessible, low-risk, and high-impact reskilling programs tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
- Smart Incentives, Smarter Businesses: Draw on best practices from global leaders such as Singapore to support digital transformation for SMEs.
- From Sandbox to Spotlight: Expand successful pilot projects into province-wide programs for long-term, sustainable growth.
Visit www.occ.ca for more.
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This entry was posted on June 25, 2025 at 8:15 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Ontario Chamber Of Commerce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Future-Proofing Ontario: Seizing AI’s Economic Potential
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming global economies, with the potential to add $187 billion annually to the Canadian economy by 2030. Yet, despite this promise, Ontario businesses and workers’ slow AI adoption risks undermining Canada’s competitiveness.
To address this gap, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), in collaboration with Microsoft Canada, has released Future-Proofing Ontario: Empowering Businesses with AI Skills — a policy primer that explores AI’s economic potential, identifies barriers to adoption, and presents scalable initiatives to build an AI-fluent workforce and business ecosystem.
Although AI holds immense promise for driving productivity and innovation, its adoption remains low: only six per cent of Canadian businesses report using AI tools, and just 31 per cent of Canadians trust generative AI. The primer calls for urgent, sustained action to equip Ontario’s workforce with the skills and confidence needed to responsibly harness AI and unleash inclusive economic growth.
inclusive economic growth.
Key recommendations include:
Visit www.occ.ca for more.
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This entry was posted on June 25, 2025 at 8:15 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Ontario Chamber Of Commerce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.