As countries around the world race to leverage artificial intelligence (AI), a recent study found that Canada is falling behind.
One expert says the decline is not due to a lack of innovation, but growing uncertainty and a gap in public understanding.
Stephanie Terrill, managing partner of digital at KPMG Canada, said many Canadians are not embracing the use of AI in their daily working lives.
“Similar to reading, our literacy isn’t where it needs to be when you compare us on the global stage,” Terrill told BNN Bloomberg in a Monday interview.
In a recent study from KPMG, Canada ranked 44th in AI training and literacy out of 47 countries, and 28th among 30 advanced economies. The study surveyed over 48,000 people in 30 advanced economies and 17 emerging economies, including 1,025 people in Canada. Terril says people have done a good job at adopting AI in the personal lives, but the report is about how Canadians use AI in workflows and business functions within organizations and different sectors of the economy.
“We’re not seeing that literacy that we would like to see when we compare ourselves to our global peers, and there’s some reluctance around trusting AI and really embedding it in how we perform our day-to-day work and how we work,” said Terril.
Many Canadians surveyed said they lack confidence using AI tools and don’t fully understand how they work. Trust levels are also low, with Canada ranking sixth lowest in willingness to rely on information generated by AI.
“Leaders have a lower degree of trust in handing tasks and work over to AI large language models, or if you want to call it, the machine, to come up with the answer and trust that their team members will actually validate those answers,” said Terrill.
The survey focused on AI training, knowledge, and efficacy. Less than one quarter (24 per cent) of Canadian respondents said they have received AI training, compared to 39 per cent globally.
Fewer than four in 10 (38 per cent) Canadians said they have moderate or high knowledge of AI, compared to 52 per cent globally. AI knowledge includes whether respondents feel informed about how AI is used, whether they understand when AI is being used, and whether they feel they have the skills necessary to use AI.
“KPMG believes that we’d like to see more investment put towards adoption, and organizations really investing in the adoption of AI by their team members, changing the way people work,” said Terrill. “And so, it’s a component of trust, and it’s a component of investment, and that really needs to start in higher education. We want to start to create literacy right at primary school through to high school, through higher education, and then that’ll translate into the workforce.”
She said technology will not be perfect when it comes out but encouraged people to try AI, saying it will be refined and improved.
“Certainly, there has been an under investment in Canada, in our people becoming digitally literate,” said Terrill.
According to the survey, only 34 per cent of Canadians are willing to trust information from AI, compared to 46 per cent globally, while only half of Canadians approve or accept the use of AI, compared to 72 per cent globally.
The survey found Canadians want stronger governance, regulation and assurance mechanisms built into AI systems. Three quarters of Canadians said they want AI regulation, compared to 70 per cent globally.
“It’s really changing how we work and getting a lot of the mundane or research ingestion of data that’s so time consuming to allow AI to do that and come out with the prediction, as in a proposed answer,” said Terrill. “Nothing replaces judgment that humans have, and having a mind shift to think that way is something that I think is holding us back from adopting AI and hence the results on the survey.”
Methodology
The Trust, attitudes and use of artificial intelligence survey was global study led by Professor Nicole Gillespie, Chair of Trust at Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne and Dr Steve Lockey, Research Fellow at Melbourne Business School, in collaboration with KPMG.
The study surveyed over 48,000 people across 47 countries – including 1,025 people in Canada – between November 2024 and January 2025. Of the 1,025 people surveyed in Canada, 51 per cent were women and 49 per cent men; 10 per cent were aged 18-24; 34 per cent were aged 25-44; 33 per cent were 45-64; and 23 per cent were aged 65 or older.
