From AI for Some to AI for All: Strengthening Canada’s AI Strategy Through Inclusion

Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy makes an ambitious promise: AI for All. It envisions a future where AI improves lives, strengthens the economy, and creates opportunities for every Canadian¹. Achieving that vision requires integrating the government’s commitments to equity and accessibility into inclusive implementation mechanisms. Without an inclusive approach, the Strategy risks leaving Autistic and disabled Canadians behind. If AI is to work for everyone, inclusion must be embedded in AI policies, programs, and investments. 

Why is Intersectional Inclusion Imperative to the AI for All Vision? 

At Canada’s first national AI and Autism Symposium in April 2026, Autism Alliance of Canada, AI innovators, professionals, and people with lived experience explored the unique opportunities and risks that AI presents for the autism community². A central message emerged: AI systems must be co-developed with disabled people and supported by meaningfully inclusive policies if they are to work for everyone. 

Nearly 8 million Canadians aged 15 and older (27%) have one or more disabilities³, at least 3% of Canadian children and youth are Autistic⁴, and an estimated 15–20% of people are neurodivergent⁵. Together, these figures underscore that disability and neurodivergence are part of the everyday reality of millions of people in Canada. These communities are also highly diverse, with experiences shaped by race, gender, language, geography, income, and other intersecting factors. 

An intersectional approach to inclusion is therefore essential. Without it, AI risks reinforcing existing inequities; with it, Canada can build technologies and policies that are inclusive by design. 

From Inclusion Commitments to Accountable Implementation 

Canada already has a strong foundation to build on. Accessibility Standards Canada’s CAN-ASC-6.2: Accessible and Equitable Artificial Intelligence Systems provides practical guidance for embedding accessibility and equity throughout the AI lifecycle⁶. The National AI Strategy acknowledges this standard and commits to promoting inclusive AI, removing accessibility barriers from AI systems, and applying Gender-Based Analysis Plus across policy design, skills development, innovation, and governance. 

But commitments alone will not deliver inclusive AI. The federal government must now establish clear requirements for how accessibility and equity will be implemented across all six pillars of the Strategy. These requirements should be built into research priorities, program design, funding criteria, federal procurement, performance measures, and public reporting. The government should also define who is responsible, how progress will be measured, and how disabled and neurodivergent people will participate in implementation and oversight. 

Without these accountability mechanisms, inclusion risks remaining confined to a small number of targeted initiatives while the broader AI ecosystem advances without it. Canada has established the standard and must now apply it consistently, fund its implementation, and publicly report on progress. 

Strengthening the Six Pillars Through Intersectional Inclusion

Discussions at Canada’s AI and Autism Symposium highlighted that intersectional inclusion must extend across the AI lifecycle, from design and data collection to governance and oversight. Each of the Strategy’s six pillars offers an opportunity to translate that learning into action and advance its vision of “AI for All.” 

Pillar 1: Protecting All Canadians. The Strategy recognizes the importance of safety, privacy, and protection from algorithmic bias. These risks can be particularly significant for Autistic and neurodivergent people. AI systems may misinterpret communication, behaviour, facial expressions, or emotional responses; expose sensitive health information; or reinforce biases in decisions involving employment, education, healthcare, and access to government supports. 

Canada should fund research on AI risks affecting Autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled people and collaborate with people with lived experience to identify priorities. Federally supported AI systems should be assessed against the accessible and equitable AI standard, with transparent reporting on performance, risks, and corrective actions. Wherever AI informs consequential decisions, inclusive and accountable human oversight should be required. 

Pillar 2: Empowering All Canadians. The Strategy seeks to expand AI opportunities, but provides few concrete mechanisms to ensure equitable outcomes. The federal government should partner with civil society organizations and equity-deserving communities to develop and implement inclusion mechanisms. 

The Strategy’s commitments to AI literacy and workforce development also present an opportunity to reduce barriers before they widen. National AI literacy initiatives should be neuro-affirming and co-developed with Autistic and neurodivergent people. Targeted education, employment, and entrepreneurship pathways are also needed for communities historically excluded from participating in technological change. 

Federally funded programs should establish measurable inclusion objectives and collect privacy-protected, disaggregated data to assess participation and outcomes, making it possible to identify who benefits and who is excluded. 

Pillar 3: Ensuring Prosperity for All Canadians. Canada cannot fully realize AI-driven prosperity while systemic barriers continue to limit the health, education, and workforce participation of Autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled Canadians. Inclusion should therefore be treated as both an economic and innovation priority. 

The Strategy’s new AI Missions Program provides a timely opportunity to turn commitment into action. Its first mission, supported by a proposed $200 million investment, focuses on improving health outcomes. This program could support responsible AI initiatives aligned with Canada’s Autism Strategy to improve health outcomes for Autistic people in Canada, complementing clinical expertise and human decision-making to help address long waits for assessment, administrative burden, and fragmented service pathways. 

Canada should also invest in inclusive AI initiatives, support entrepreneurs from equity-deserving communities, and incentivize businesses to adopt accessible and inclusive practices. This would expand inclusive participation in Canada’s economy while producing technologies that better reflect Canadians’ diverse needs. 

Pillars 4-6: AI Sovereignty, Investment, and Partnerships that Benefit All Canadians. Canada’s ambitions for sovereign AI infrastructure, global competitiveness, and trusted international partnerships will be stronger if inclusion is recognized as a measure of excellence.

Representative, responsibly governed data are essential to build AI systems that work for everyone. Autistic and disabled people should be meaningfully included in decision-making about how disability-related data are collected, accessed, interpreted, and used. Public investments should require developers to test systems across diverse populations, disclose limitations, and monitor the distribution of benefits and harms. 

Civil society organizations and equity-deserving communities should also have meaningful roles in AI governance, research partnerships, standards development, and investment decisions. This would strengthen public trust and help ensure Canada’s AI ecosystem is both technically advanced and responsive to the people it serves. 

Bridging the AI Inclusion Gap 

To address its AI adoption gap, Canada must first close its AI inclusion gap. Canada has the foundation to make “AI for All” a measurable reality. Now is the time to ensure every AI policy, program, and investment is designed and evaluated through an intersectional inclusion lens so AI creates equitable opportunities for all Canadians. 

Acknowledgement: The structure, content, and all ideas contained in this editorial came from humans (the authors). ChatGPT (OpenAI) was used to assist with tone, clarity, and precision throughout the human-written editorial. Every AI-generated word was then evaluated and either approved or edited by the authors.

References 

¹ Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. (2026). Canada’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All. Government of Canada. 

² Autism Alliance of Canada. (2026, April 10). 12th Annual Canadian Autism Leadership Summit in Ottawa will help shape the future of AI, disability policy and inclusive systems. 

³ Statistics Canada. (2024, September 4). Canada at a Glance, 2023: Accessibility and Persons with disabilities. Government of Canada. 

⁴ Government of Canada. (2026, March 16). Chronic conditions in childhood: Insights from the 2019 and 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth.

⁵ Doyle, N. (2020). Neurodiversity at work: a biopsychosocial model and the impact on working adults. British Medical Bulletin, 135(1), 108-125. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldaa021 

⁶ Accessibility Standards Canada. (2025). CAN-ASC-6.2: Accessible and Equitable Artificial Intelligence Systems. Government of Canada.