Montréal’s ALL IN conference drew its largest crowd yet this year, as Canada’s artificial intelligence industry used the global spotlight to announce new international partnerships, fresh capital commitments, and expanded government funding, even as the event faced protests over the technology‘s risks.
The conference, which in past years focused on rebuilding Canada’s position in AI after missed opportunities, this year positioned the country as a leader in the field. Germany served as the event’s “country of honour,” building on a sovereign tech alliance the two countries signed in February. More than 40 German companies attended alongside Canadian AI leaders, and Toronto-based AI developer Cohere reached terms to join forces with Germany’s Aleph Alpha to create a company positioned as a rival to major U.S. AI firms.
International Partnerships and AI Safety Funding
Canada and Germany also jointly committed roughly $300 million CAD to LawZero, a cross-border institute led by AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio that is focused on developing safe-by-design AI systems. The funding is aimed at addressing risks associated with advanced AI development.
Within Canada, federal Minister Evan Solomon announced that Québec-based AI institute Mila would receive “tens of millions” of dollars to support development of practical, open-source AI applications. Solomon also said Canada would introduce a digital regulator with real enforcement power, though further details were not specified.
The conference’s rising profile was accompanied by visible opposition to the technology’s expansion. Protesters demonstrated outside the venue, and police reported broken windows and anti-data-centre graffiti at Mila earlier in the week. A protester also interrupted ALL IN’s closing panel featuring Solomon before being removed. Responding to the incident, Solomon said that alongside those deeply involved in building AI, there is a broader public with legitimate concerns about its risks, adding that addressing the technology’s development needs to happen “openly and transparently.”
Data Centre Ambitions and Capital Commitments
Canada’s potential as a hub for AI infrastructure was also a theme at the conference. Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez said this week that Canada could become a global data centre “superpower,” pointing to the country’s climate, available land, and energy resources. OpenAI managing director George Osborne made similar remarks at ALL IN, saying Canada would be an “obvious place” for the company to consider building a data centre, though OpenAI has not committed to a Canadian project.
Telecom company Bell has already moved forward with infrastructure investment, committing to quadruple the compute capacity of its data centre project in Saskatchewan. The move keeps the $50-billion project on track to become Canada’s largest data centre by wattage.
Separately, several Canadian capital commitments were announced around the conference. Venture firm Portage closed $600 million USD for its fourth fintech-focused fund, though its CEO said Canada still needs more firms of its kind to close a domestic fintech growth capital gap. Impact-focused investor Amplify Capital secured $60 million CAD for its third fund, which it said would allow it to write larger cheques for climate, health, and work technology startups. Canada’s Business Development Bank also outlined plans to deploy $1 billion into Canadian and allied-nation defence funds and startups, including a $500-million fund-of-funds and an expanded $500-million direct-investment vehicle for defence and dual-use technology companies.
What It Means for Canada’s Tech Sector
Together, the announcements around ALL IN reflect an effort by Canadian AI companies, investors, and government officials to position the country as both a builder and a responsible steward of artificial intelligence technology, even as public unease about its societal risks becomes more visible.
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