Canada’s national Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy was released on 4 June 2026. Titled AI for All, the strategy outlines Canada’s priorities and identifies six pillars of work for Canada’s investment in AI.

Mines Action Canada appreciates the concentration on AI as a tool for improving the lives of Canadians and not on the defense sector. There is little mention of security, national defence or weapons in the AI strategy. This might not be surprising since much of the focus of AI for All is on domestic AI use and capacity. However, some guardrails on the use of AI the strategy would have strengthened the document. The unregulated development of AI in weapons, especially autonomous weapons systems, will have a direct impact on the effectiveness of the deployment and use of AI across Canada.

The national strategy accurately highlights the importance of trust in AI to increasing adoption of AI across Canada. It also notes that currently, 36% of Canadians believe that AI is harmful to society while half regard AI as a threat to humanity. Canadian trust in AI is low. The development and use of AI-powered weapons or target selection processes will exacerbate this distrust among the general public.

We are already seeing reports of AI being used in targeting in Palestine and in Iran, and reports of evolving autonomy in weapons themselves. MAC has previously written on our concerns about AI enabled targeting in Palestine due to the potential for mistakes, for civilian harm, and for human accountability to be obscured. The use of AI for making target lists for the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran have made the news frequently since the beginning of that conflict. These news reports have often highlighted events such as the bombing a school which killed over 100 children. The use of AI in such actions is a huge reputational risk in addition to the harm caused by its use. At a time when trust in AI is already low, seeing it being blamed for killing children by accident will not improve the public perception of the technology.

To achieve its goals, AI for All will have to positively shift public perception of the technology. One way to do so will be to put restrictions on the harmful use of AI including in weapons and target selection for the military. There are ongoing talks at the international level about new international rules regarding autonomous weapons systems. Canada can and should bring that conversation home and create national legislation prohibiting the development, production and use of autonomous weapons systems as soon as possible. A national prohibition on autonomous weapons systems will allow Canadian talent to focus their time and budgets on building the technology that will improve lives not end them.