Here is the official release by the Canadian government and the EU’s official statement.
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Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon held two press conferences on the first day of the two-day meeting in Montreal — one on a new partnership with Germany and the other on a new agreement with the European Union.
The agreement with Germany is meant to increase collaboration on AI, quantum technology, digital sovereignty and infrastructure. Solomon also announced the signing of two agreements with the EU — one focusing on adoption and responsible development of AI and the other on co-operation on digital credentials.
The European Union has been a proponent of AI regulation, while the United States under the Trump administration has opposed regulation. In Montreal, Solomon faced questions from reporters about that dynamic.
“Canada and Europe have both very much been aligned on finding a place where we have the balance between privacy, safety, and AI safety, not just with AI, whether it’s with deep fakes and other issues, but also making sure we don’t constrain innovation,” Solomon said.
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At the press conference with [executive vice-president of the European Commission for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, Henna] Virkkunen, he said one of Canada’s goals is to broaden trade relationships, including digital trade relationships with Europe. He noted Canada’s digital partnership with the EU began in 2023.
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When Solomon was first named artificial intelligence minister, he said Canada would not “over-index” on regulation and cited U.S. and Chinese disinterest in such efforts.
A month ago, at the Govern or Be Governed conference in Montreal, the European Union’s democracy commissioner said he wouldn’t “lecture” Canada or any other country as the EU pushes ahead on regulating tech platforms and artificial intelligence. AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio told the same conference Canada should partner with allies like the European Union.
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