The People’s Consultation on AI, launched on January 21, 2026, is a collaborative civil society initiative created in response to the federal government’s failure to provide a meaningful consultation process during the development of a national AI strategy in October 2025.

In 2025, the government hastily assembled a task force to develop its AI national strategy. It was heavily skewed towards industry with very few participants able to speak to the broader ethical, social and political implications of the technology.

An accompanying public consultation allowed just 30 days for feedback, impeding those most impacted by AI from effectively participating. The government’s consultation survey questions prioritized economic benefits over AI’s many negative impacts and responses are now being assessed by AI rather than public officials.

These and other shortcomings were detailed in an open letter signed by over 160 civil society organizations and experts in October 2025, protesting the government’s “national sprint” on AI and documenting the many negative impacts that are already occurring as AI technologies become embedded in every aspect of Canadian society.

The People’s Consultation on AI offers a meaningful alternative. Beginning today, public interest groups, academics, impacted communities, and people across Canada have a meaningful opportunity to have their say on whether–and how–AI should be adopted and governed in Canada.

Designed for broad participation, the People’s Consultation on AI welcomes everything from the results of neighbourhood discussions about AI’s everyday impacts to in-depth expert analyses. The consultation website provides resources on current implications of AI alongside general guidance and community facilitation tools to help people craft submissions collaboratively.

Submissions will be published on the consultation website, shared with the federal government, and support civil society efforts to build a comprehensive response to the threats posed by AI.

The People’s Consultation on AI will be accepting submissions until March 15, 2026.

Participate in the consultation here:

English: https://www.peoplesaiconsultation.ca/

Français : https://www.consultationpopulairesurlia.ca/

Selected Quotes: Quotes represent the views of the individuals or organizations quoted

“Law enforcement and security agencies are increasingly relying on AI tools to supercharge surveillance, in an attempt to assess situations in real time and to even claim to predict future behaviour. Too often these AI tools are biased and their continued unregulated adoption will continue to have devastating impacts on people. It is imperative that communities affected by these technologies have the opportunity to weigh in on their impacts and possible safeguards – and that the Canadian government listen to what they have to say.” – Tim McSorley, National Coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group

“The Canadian government is pushing AI hard as a boon to our economy. It seeks our trust but fails to make a good case for AI’s benefits. It avoids addressing the many serious pitfalls, especially of generative AI, and makes only token efforts to engage Canadians broadly in this important policy debate. The People’s Consultation on AI, in providing Canadians with a more open, inclusive and informed basis for expressing their views, offers a powerful corrective. Government should heed the coming results.” – Andrew Clement, Professor emeritus, University of Toronto

“The collateral damage around the intoxicated rush to embrace AI can be measured in laid-off workers, psyop campaigns in the service of corrupt oligarchs and autocrats, women and vulnerable minorities bullied into silence by swarms of deep fakes, and teen suicides. It is entirely unacceptable to allow tech platforms to experiment on billions of people for private gain with no meaningful restraints. We urgently need mandated transparency requirements, independent auditing of AI platforms, and stronger privacy and consumer protection laws.”
– Ronald J. Deibert, O.C., O.O., Professor of Political Science and Director of the CitizenLab, The Munk School, University of Toronto

“The government’s rush to automate services with unregulated AI could cement systemic biases, disproportionately harming vulnerable Canadians. Refugees and immigrants face the gravest risk of being left behind, potentially thrust into deeper precarity by algorithmic systems.” – Debbie Douglas, Executive Director, OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

“We hope that this consultation exercise will demonstrate that social innovation in AI is also compatible with values of inclusion and social justice. Including citizens’ perspectives and, more broadly, civil society in AI governance is essential to ensure that we develop in Canada AI systems that meet the needs of the population as a whole and in all its diversity.” – Karine Gentelet, Full Professor, Université du Québec en Outaouais & scientific director Collaboration with Civil Society Obvia

“Canada cannot claim AI leadership while sidelining the communities already being harmed. From automated discrimination to technology facilitated gender based violence, AI is amplifying structural harm, and those most affected must be central to shaping Canada’s AI future.”
– Meseret Haileyesus, CEO Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE)

“We need workers and the public to have a real say in shaping a public vision for AI in Canada. It’s the only way to make sure AI serves workers and ordinary folks, not just big tech corporations. CUPE is calling for strong laws and regulations to protect workers, the public and the environment.” – Mark Hancock, CUPE National President

“In its sprint to make Canada an AI leader, our government is putting business interests ahead of dealing with its impact on human rights, the environment and democratic integrity. Yet public opinion polling is extremely clear: Canadians are demanding an AI strategy that addresses these negative impacts head on, not one that treats them as an afterthought.” – Matt Hatfield, Executive Director, OpenMedia

“Artificial intelligence has had wide-reaching effects on society and will continue to for the foreseeable future. It is imperative that we mitigate the potential harms of AI on the Canadian people and its democratic institutions.” – Khasir Hean, Co-Organizer, Technologists for Democracy

“AI is being adopted with a concerning disregard for the negative impacts it is having on our lives–impacts that fall most heavily on groups that are already precarious. As AI reshapes how we work, how we learn, how we interact with each other, and how we are policed by the state, it is imperative that Canada adopt an informed strategy for dealing with this technology.” – Tamir Israel, Director, Privacy, Surveillance & Technology Program, Canadian Civil Liberties Association

“Proponents of novel technologies celebrate speed in embracing change without regard to consequences, but this is a catastrophic approach to legislation. The government puts our fundamental rights at risk — including the equality and privacy rights that are essential to a free and democratic society — when they allow the development of AI regulation to be rushed or dominated by industry interests.” – Aislin Jackson, Policy Staff Counsel, BC Civil Liberties Association

“The federal government’s approach to a national AI “strategy” has resembled a parody of AI boosterism, with their purported consultation a thin veneer for manufacturing consent where they know there is none. It is a slap in the face to every historically marginalized community and vulnerable person who has already been harmed by the carelessness and arrogance of robber tech barons prioritizing profits over people and ego over ethics. If we have learned one thing repeatedly from the cascading and discriminatory harms of so many cycles of tech hype—whether big data, social media, algorithmic decision-making, or genAI—it’s that those hardest hit often see the future first, but are the last to be heard. This collective initiative is an attempt to steer Canada away from making that profound mistake yet again.” – Cynthia Khoo, Senior Fellow, Citizen Lab; technology & human rights lawyer

“Reckless adoption of AI systems is already undermining substantive equality in our daily lives. We need regulatory controls that centre human rights and substantive equality to mitigate the profound harms of this technology, but the government is developing a national strategy on AI without hearing from those who will be the most impacted.” – Rosel Kim, Senior Staff Lawyer, Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)

“AI’s real existential threat is to democracy itself. The government needs to take public participation in AI governance seriously or else lose its legitimacy to govern all together. The push to adopt AI above all risk ignore the countless voices asking for AI that works for people not profits” – Fenwick McKelvey, Associate Professor, Concordia University

“Buying into AI hype is not going to help us build a better future. We can build a better and uniquely Canadian path by taking the very real concerns of everyone in Canada about AI seriously, engaging in meaningful consultations, ensuring rights of refusal and developing strong enforceable protections that prioritize the well-being of people and the environment over the interests of the big tech companies who are causing so much harm.” – Joanna Redden, Co-Director Starling Centre

“Students’ learning, development, and growth is being dictated by a handful of trend-obsessed and profit-driven technology companies whose interest is their bottom line rather than student welfare. Growing evidence of the negative impacts of generative AI on students’ critical thinking skills and their social, cultural, and psychological wellbeing should be raising huge alarms against this uncritical and non-consensual integration. Meanwhile, the government invests in generative AI which undermines educators’ labour and working conditions, wasting resources better used to address real issues in education. The People’s Consultation on AI is a vital step in pushing back and ensuring the future of Canadian education centres the real needs of educators and students.” – sava saheli singh, Assistant Professor of Digital Futures in Education, York University

“AI policy cannot be left to the industries profiting from it. BC Policy Solutions endorses the People’s Consultation because we need an AI governance framework grounded in economic justice—one that protects workers and the environment, reclaims public data infrastructure and ensures AI serves collective social needs rather than just a private oligopoly.” – Véronique Sioufi, Racial Equity Researcher, BC Policy Solutions

“The concerns raised by civil society and by communities most affected by AI, in Canada and beyond, must be listened to and seriously considered by the government. The infrastructure supporting AI in Canada—particularly as part of a broader push toward digital sovereignty, including data and data centers—carries profound ethical, financial, social, and environmental consequences that warrant public debate. In the context of the climate crisis, AI poses significant environmental challenges, driven by large-scale mineral extraction and the substantial water and energy demands of data center operations. Claims of Canadian AI sovereignty cannot be credible without democratic participation by civil society in decisions that shape this technology, including saying no.” – Sophie Toupin, Assistant Professor, Université Laval

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