OTTAWA — The Canadian government is investing up to C$162 million over five years to create 10,000 AI-related work placements for students, recent graduates and post-doctoral fellows.

The announcement, made on September 25, 2026, will be delivered through Mitacs AI Advantage, connecting emerging Canadian talent with businesses and organizations working on artificial intelligence adoption and innovation.

The program includes two streams: ADOPT, focused on helping businesses test and deploy AI solutions, and AI+X, supporting research collaborations that apply AI to areas including healthcare and agriculture.

The federal government says the initiative will help Canadian companies access specialized talent while giving young Canadians paid, practical experience in AI and emerging technologies.

The investment forms part of Canada's AI for All strategy, which aims to create up to 90,000 AI-related jobs and work placements for young Canadians by 2031.

The announcement comes as Canada continues expanding its AI infrastructure and technology ecosystem, including efforts to increase domestic computing capacity and support responsible AI development.

The new funding puts AI skills, technology adoption and workforce development at the centre of Canada's latest digital economy push.