July Policy Digest: Navigating Canada's First AI Minister and the Economic Implications of C-5 Bill

Hey There! Welcome to Our First Policy Digest

This is our spot to shine a light on and break down the latest happenings where policy and technology meet. With how fast the world is changing, the way these two areas interact is more important than ever, affecting everything from our daily lives to the economy and society as a whole.

As we kick off this journey, we'll dive into various topics showing how tech advancements are influencing policy decisions and how regulations are evolving to keep up with the rapid pace of tech innovations. We'll cover everything from data privacy and cybersecurity to AI's impact and the digital economy, giving you a full picture of what's going on right now.

We’d love for you to jump in, share your thoughts, and join the conversation. Our aim is to help you understand the complex relationship between policy and tech better, and how it affects YOU. By keeping you in the loop, we can all tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead. Keep an eye out for insightful articles, expert takes, and deep dives about this ever-changing field!

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Canada's First AI Minister

For the first time, Canada has a Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. The new minister is MP, Evan Solomon. Solomon expressed less of a desire to regulate AI and is instead more focused on economic development and success. One of his main concerns being data protection and privacy, with a priority on the government investing in data facilities as well as research. Solomon is focused on growing Canada as a contributor to the AI industry (Karadeglija, 2025). Solomon shared the opening of AI Compute Access Fund applications, with an overall value of $300-million CAD. The fund is a continuation of the previous government’s $2-billion package to grow AI access for Canadian businesses’ (Scott, 2025). Additionally, the government is providing $3.5-billion of funding to Vector Institute to develop AI within healthcare through start-ups and various other supports (Scott, 2025). 

Regarding the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act during the last government, the new government is reconsidering which elements to move forward with. Solomon explained that the AI regulation Canada adopts should follow “light, tight, [and] right” (Scott, 2025). Solomon reiterates through this phrase, the need for Canadian data protection. He expressed the need for Canada to protect its intellectual property, relating intellectual property to a valuable resource like oil. Solomon went on to state that “AI is not fashion” moreover, “It is not FOMO. It is a necessity to grow” (Scott, 2025). 

Canada’s New Bill C-5: Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Growth at What Cost

Prime Minister Carney has frequently claimed that his government will shape Canada’s economy to become stronger and more resilient, especially due to the imposition of U.S. tariffs. One of several strategies aiming to accomplish this was introducing Bill C-5, which recently became law on June 26th, 2025 (The Canadian Press, 2025). This bill is composed of two components. First, the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act, which alleviates inter-provincial trade barriers (Environmental Law Centre, 2025). Second, the Building Canada Act enables the expediting of major projects deemed of national interest, likely involving mines, pipelines, and other facets of the energy sector (Environmental Law Centre, 2025). In short, it will streamline Canada’s process of infrastructural and energy development to foster the Liberals’ view of a stronger economy. 

However, Bill C-5 has pertinent criticisms regarding its potential environmental impacts and implications for indigenous peoples. In this case, projects of such “national interest” may be exempt from transparent environmental assessments (Waters, 2025). Meanwhile, the C-5 claims its projects will be initiated after consultation with Indigenous communities, yet this does not align with the UNDRIP’s goals of free, prior and informed consent and is sparking debate and concern from Indigenous leaders (Waters, 2025). Accelerated processes indicate that some of the most pressing national issues are upheld at the cost of other matters. 

Finally, what does this mean for STEM fields? Industry sectors in STEM will potentially see increased jobs for engineers, environmental scientists, data scientists, and more. However, with any fast-paced growth, there might be faster deadlines as well as ethical concerns with project implementation and its impact on local environments and communities.  

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References

Environmental Law Centre. (2025, June 12). Bill C-5 & the Building Canada Act: What You Need to Know. Environmental Law Centre. https://elc.ab.ca/post-library/bill-c5-building-canada-act-analysis/

Karadeglija, A. (2025, June 10). AI minister says focus is more on economic benefits, less on 

regulation. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/11234071/canada-ai-minister-economic-benefit-less-regulation/

Scott, J. (2025, June 25).“Light, tight, right” regulation: Minister Evan Solomon unpacks  how Canada plans to support domestic AI and quantum computing. Betakit. https://betakit.com/light-tight-and-right-regulation-minister-evan-solomon-unpacks-how-canada-plans-to-support-domestic-ai-and-quantum-computing/

The Canadian Press. (2025, June 26). Senate passes controversial bill to fast-track major projects. CTVNews. https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/article/senate-could-vote-on-controversial-major-projects-bill-today/

Waters, S. (2025, June 25). Bill C-5: Canada’s push to fast-track projects | The Narwhal. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/thenarwhal-ca-canada-bill-c-5-fast-track/