Stories listed on October 5, 2026
PUTTING AI TO WORK: Generative AI Usage Among Canadian Workers
A survey reported that 41.6% of Canadian workers, including self-employed people, used at least one AI tool or automation technology for their main job or business in the year before March.
Health AI won’t wait, Canada must invest in a new regulatory playbook
The authors argue that Canada should invest in stronger, faster oversight of artificial intelligence used in health care.
First Nation demands more info on Bell AI data centre near Regina: ‘We have to live here’
The Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation is asking Bell Canada for more information about a data centre under construction in the RM of Sherwood, near Regina, including its potential environmental impacts.
Government of Canada invests in 10,000 AI-related work placements for young Canadians
The federal government is providing up to $162 million over five years, starting in 2026–2027, to support 10,000 AI-related work placements through Mitacs.
Carney names new council to advise Ottawa on AI
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new National Council on Artificial Intelligence on October 2 to advise the federal government on its AI for All strategy.
Byline or bot? AI-generated ‘journalists’ starting to appear in Canada
We News uses AI-generated personas as reporters and editors, including a Quebec correspondent called Geneviève Tremblay.
B.C. teen stranded on cliff after having AI plan his route
A 16-year-old from British Columbia was rescued after following an AI-plotted route that left him stranded at the base of a cliff on Crown Mountain.
2nd potential AI data centre worries Saint John residents: ‘We have questions’
Residents in Saint John, New Brunswick, are raising concerns about a second potential data centre, while also opposing a proposed centre near Lorneville.
In the age of AI, why Canadian travel agencies just saw revenues rise
Revenue in Canada’s travel arrangement and reservation services industry rose 8.8 per cent to $18.3 billion in 2025, Statistics Canada said, following a 9.3 per cent increase in 2024.
Calian and Invest Ottawa to open new defence research and development lab
Ottawa-based Calian and Invest Ottawa plan to open the Northstar Defence Lab at Area X.O, a research and development complex in the city’s west end.
Bell’s Saskatchewan AI Data Centre Construction Scales Up
More than 500 workers are building Bell’s 300-megawatt AI data-centre campus outside Regina, where structural steel is rising on four first-phase buildings.
Canada Competition Bureau makes recommendations on AI transparency
Canada’s Competition Bureau recommended that AI transparency rules support competitive markets, use obligations proportionate to their purpose and focus on harms rather than specific technologies.
An AI tried to hack Canada. Is that a warning?
Transluce told the Canadian government that unidentified AI agents tried to hack Library and Archives Canada over the summer.
OpenMedia’s Input to Canada’s 2026 AI Transparency Public Consultation
OpenMedia submitted written comments to the federal government’s 2026 consultation on AI transparency on September 23.
New IBM CHRO Study: Canadian Employees Worry AI Is Eroding Skills as Critical Thinking Gains Importance
An IBM study found that 62% of Canadian employees worry AI is eroding their skills, while 68% of Canadian human resources chiefs say workers need to supervise, check and override AI outputs.
[Gen-AI Analysis] Canada vehicle sales up 3.4% in September
Canada’s vehicle sales were estimated at 168,000 in September 2026, up 3.4% from 163,000 a year earlier, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.
AI's dangers 'real and imminent,' Canadian AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio tells UN
Canadian AI researcher Yoshua Bengio urged the United Nations Security Council to establish controls on AI, calling the technology an unprecedented threat that no country can contain alone.
New, AI-ready mine drill core library will 'unlock' Canada's resource potential, says federal government
Natural Resources Canada began building a national digital library of drill-core records to support AI use in mineral exploration.
This AI tool frees up time for P.E.I. doctors. It could help them see more patients
About 100 doctors and nurse practitioners in Prince Edward Island have used an AI tool since last winter to transcribe and summarize patient conversations.
PwC and Cohere Form Global AI Alliance Launching First in Canada
PwC and Cohere announced a global AI alliance on October 5, 2026, beginning in Canada.
PwC and Cohere form an enterprise AI alliance, launching first in Canada
PwC and Cohere announced a global alliance to sell secure artificial intelligence services to businesses, beginning in Canada. They did not disclose clients, the alliance’s value or a timeline.
Cohere unveils latest AI platform with more agentic features for businesses
Cohere is releasing North 2, a new version of its business AI platform, to attract more corporate and government customers.
AI and job fears drive Canadians toward second-income strategies amid debt stress
Nearly half of Canadians surveyed are seeking income beyond their main job as debt pressure, labour-market uncertainty and concern about artificial intelligence add to financial worries.
Q&A: An anthropologist pulls back the curtain on the humans behind AI
Anthropologist Joseph Wilson’s book Humans of AI examines the people behind artificial intelligence, challenging the idea that the technology is simply autonomous and opaque.
New IBM CHRO Study: Canadian Employees Worry AI Is Eroding Skills as Critical Thinking Gains Importance
An IBM study found that 62% of Canadian employees worry artificial intelligence is eroding their skills, while employees and human resources leaders differ on which abilities matter most.