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Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Montreal Summit, 3 December 2020

Remarks by Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau

Hello everyone. Bonjour à tous. 

Merci, Nav, pour cette introduction et pour ton travail remarquable à titre de Ministre de l’innovation, des sciences et de l’industrie. Je tiens également à remercier le Président Macron. C’est toujours un plaisir d’avoir la chance de travailler ensemble. Le Canada et la France entretiennent une relation spéciale, et cette rencontre est un exemple de plus de ce que nous pouvons accomplir en travaillant tous les deux ensemble.

I also want to thank not just all the ministers and officials in this meeting, but all my fellow leaders around the world who know this initiative is something we have to embark on together, and to all the scientists, researchers, innovators out there, thank you for being part of this exciting meeting.

My friends, this is truly an exciting moment as we hold our first ever meeting of the global partnership for AI, and it couldn't come at a better time. In January, our world was facing a new disease. We didn't know exactly what it was, how to spread it, or how to stop it.

Governments and healthcare systems needed information fast, and that's where technology came into the picture.

Around the world, the latest and most powerful tech was put to work.

Right here in Canada, Toronto-based Blue Dot was one of the first globally to identify and then track the spread of COVID-19 using AI.

Very quickly, we had some of the answers we needed. Not only did that help keep people safe, it helped save lives.

Au cours des derniers mois, nous avons constaté à quel point la technologie est importante pour aider les gens à rester en santé et en sécurité. Il y a là un énorme potentiel. Nous devons utiliser les outils à notre disposition pour le bien de tous.

We have the technology to fight diseases, to address climate change, to better deliver humanitarian aid. In other words, we have the technology to shape our world for the better. Let's not forget though that positive change just doesn't happen by itself. We have to choose it, and that's why we're all here today. We need collaborative governance of new technology, including artificial intelligence. After all, if innovation has the power to solve problems when used right, it also has the potential to create new challenges when left unchecked. As GPAI’s first chair, Canada is ready to work with you on a global AI ecosystem that advances responsible innovation while fostering diversity and inclusion.

On COVID-19 in particular, I know there's an AI in pandemic response subgroup looking at how we leverage this tech to keep people safe.

En tant que premier président du PMIA, le Canada est prêt à travailler avec vous à la mise en place d’un écosystème mondial de l’IA qui fera la promotion de l’innovation responsable tout en favorisant la diversité et l’inclusion. Il s’agit d’une tâche cruciale, et le Canada est là pour contribuer à l’avancement de nos progrès. Nous nous sommes engagés à être des chefs de file sur la scène mondiale, à ce sujet nous avons organisé le sommet du G7 sur l’intelligence artificielle, et exprimé notre soutien à l’égard de l’appel à l’action de Christchurch, et nous donnons suite à cet engagement ici même au pays.

Le mois dernier, le Canada a déposé une nouvelle loi pour mettre en œuvre notre charte du numérique, nous avons créé la charte pour bâtir un gouvernement numérique ouvert et moderne, pour protéger la vie privée en ligne ainsi que les processus démocratiques, et pour sévir contre le contenu violent et extrémiste.

As part of Canada’s new legislation to implement our digital charter, we introduced a world-leading consumer privacy protection act to give Canadians more control and greater transparency over how companies handle their personal information. As Minister Bains has said, this builds on what we've already done with the 2017 pan-Canadian AI strategy, and with investments in tech and innovation right across the country.

Nous avons une occasion unique de collaborer pour atteindre un but commun avec l’ensemble des provinces et des territoires et avec des experts de tous les domaines. Ensemble, nous pouvons bâtir un avenir plus sain, plus sûr, et plus prospère pour tous. C’est un défi de taille, mais je sais que nous en sommes à la hauteur.

This is really an exciting moment. In 2018, when we gathered the world in Charlevoix, we knew that this was a new area we needed to dig into, and we weren’t certain we would be able to pull together something real, something significant. There's always a lot of hesitation about creating new multilateral initiatives, creating new institutions at a time where we’re really focused on trying to reform and update the institutions that have served us well for decades. But what we're seeing now with this global coming together on AI is demonstrating that we can, as a global community, respond to some of the most pressing issues of our time, AI and new technologies, even as we’re responding to the greatest challenge of our time around COVID-19.

This virtual conference has already been an extraordinary success and demonstrated our capacity to collaborate, not just as governments and scientists, but also with the private sector to dig into something that really matters deeply to everyone. Citizens around the world are being increasingly impacted by AI and the desire of like-minded companies, countries, and scientists to come together to figure out the rules that are going to keep Canadians and all citizens protected is really exciting.

So I’m proud of the leadership that so many Canadians have shown over many decades on AI, but now we get to move forward as a global community showing leadership to make sure we’re caring, not just for people today, but for people in decades to come as our world transforms.

C’est un grand moment très excitant, et je suis maintenant heureux de céder la parole pour l’intervention par vidéo de notre ami le Président Macron.