Policy Primer
Future-Proofing Ontario: Empowering Businesses with AI Skills June 2025
Overview Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful economic enabler, creating over 22,000 jobs in Canada, nearly a third of those paying more than $85,000 annuallyi. Yet, adoption remains low, with just over 6 per cent of businesses reporting using AIii, and only 31 per cent of Canadians expressing trust in Generative AI technologiesiii. This Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) policy primer explores how AI can drive Ontario’s economic growth, spotlighting key barriers limiting adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and highlighting targeted, scalable strategies to build AI fluency, foster cross-sector collaboration, and ensure responsible, inclusive adoption across Ontario’s economy.
AI: An Economic Enabler in Canada
Generative AI (Gen AI) is emerging as the next general-purpose technology, with the potential to generate between USD $2.6 and $4.4 trillion in global valueiv. It will save businesses time, streamline operations, improve productivity, and support workers by reducing manual and repetitive tasks acrossv. In Canada, Gen AI could add $187 billion annually to the economy by 2030 – $100 billion from SMEs alone, including $70 billion from small businesses and $30 billion from medium-sized firmsvi. To fully realize AI’s potential, Ontario must close the gap between innovation and adoption. This means equipping the workforce, enabling SMEs, and creating the conditions for inclusive and sustainable AI growth.
AI as a Productivity Solution
Canada is no stranger to lagging productivity rates, with labour productivity declining in nine of the last 10 quartersvii, the lowest in the OECDviii. Businesses are aware of the impacts low productivity has on innovation, growth, and competitiveness. AI can be a productivity multiplier, potentially increasing Canada’s real GDP by as much as five to eight per cent over the next decade, implying a 0.5 per cent – 0.7 per cent lift to annual-productivityix. This could help offset headwinds from an aging population, shifts in immigration demographics, international trade barriers, and a changing economic climate. AI technology offers an important solution to the productivity crisis. For SMEs, it streamlines administrative work, improves marketing, scales operations, and strengthens supply chains, among other new business value generated (Figure 1), critical to unlocking potential and bolstering competitivenessx.
Ontario Chamber of Commerce
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