Saturday September 13, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Artificial intelligence is on the BC government’s radar.
Clearly, the use of AI is rapidly gaining ground in business and society. This seems a good sign that two levels of government want to explore the impacts and the possibilities.
Yesterday, Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon posted in social media about having had a meeting this week with federal AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon.
The meeting included BC’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies, Rick Glumac (MLA for Port Moody-Burquitlam) and federal Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Taleeb Noormohamed (MP for Vancouver Granville).
“BC is home to one of the largest tech ecosystems in Canada,” said Kahlon in his social media post on LinkedIn yesterday.
Kahlon said that the discussion that he and Glumac had with the federal minister and parliamentary secretary was “productive”.
The discussion included “expanding BC’s innovation in life sciences, AI and quantum tech through investments that grow our economy, create good jobs and reduce our reliance on the U.S. market”, said Kahlon.
Concerns about AI:
Generally speaking, the most immediate concern that people seem to have about AI is how it will cause existing jobs to be lost to the use of AI; a government strategy for job retaining would seem to be appropriate.
More broadly, people will be right to have concern about the problems that AI introduces to modern and healthy living including the creation of mis/disinformation and matters of privacy an data security.
There is also a need for government and industry to address the electricity demands that AI will make on current and future energy-generating infrastructure.
Portfolios:
Canada’s first AI portfolio was created by Prime Minister Mark Carney with his new cabinet appointments in May 2025, following the 45th federal general election.
BC’s first AI portfolio was created by Premier David Eby with his revised cabinet appointments in July 2025 (a shuffle that followed his first cabinet appointments in November 2024 after the 43rd BC provincial general election).
===== RELATED:
NEWS SECTIONS: CANADA-NATIONAL | BC 43rd PARLIAMENT | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE