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Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy

The Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy (PCAIS) is a federal government funding program, first announced in Budget 2017, that established Canada as an early mover in national AI strategy. The strategy is administered by CIFAR (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research) and funds three national AI institutes: the Vector Institute (Toronto), Mila – Quebec AI Institute (Montréal), and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii, Edmonton). Phase 1 (2017–2022) committed $125 million over five years to attract and retain world-leading AI researchers, increase the number of AI-skilled graduates, and support a national research community. The three institutes were designated as national centres under the strategy in 2017. Phase 2 was announced in Budget 2021 with a significantly larger commitment of $443.8 million over ten years. It expanded the strategy's mandate beyond research and talent to include responsible AI development and commercialisation, with CIFAR continuing as administrator.