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Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has tabbed Haldimand-Norfolk MP Leslyn Lewis as the party’s shadow minister for digital government and artificial intelligence.
The move comes after the federal Liberals unveiled “AI for All,” the Carney government’s strategy to encourage individual Canadians and businesses to adopt AI through investing in training and education meant to increase trust in the new technology.
The strategy includes legislation to protect Canadians from the potential harms of AI use — from deepfake images to chatbots — and guard against personal data being used to drive surveillance pricing.
Noting AI and other digital technologies “are reshaping every aspect of our society,” Lewis called for “a principled approach that embraces innovation while protecting Canadians’ rights, strengthening our digital sovereignty, and ensuring technology serves people, not the other way around.”
In a statement, Lewis said her task is to ensure the federal AI strategy safeguards Canadians’ “privacy, security, and fundamental freedoms in an increasingly digital world.”
Technology, Lewis said, should be used responsibly and transparently to provide “citizen-focused” government services and “strengthen economic opportunity, productivity and prosperity for Canadian workers and businesses.”
“I look forward to holding the government to account and working alongside my Conservative colleagues to advance policies that restore the promise of Canada and ensure Canada’s digital future reflects our values,” Lewis said.
A familiar presence on the Conservative front bench during Question Period, Lewis has represented the rural riding southwest of Hamilton since 2021, handily winning re-election in 2025.
She was previously the Official Opposition’s infrastructure critic and relaunched the Canadian Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus in 2022.
Last month, the federal Conservatives caught flak for using AI to create footage for a political ad that aired on social media. The artificially generated scenes depicted Canadians at a food bank, and facing unemployment and homelessness.
The party labelled the footage as AI-generated and said the ad was meant to point at pressing real-world problems, but critics worry the trend of political parties using AI will further erode public trust in government.
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