With G7 leaders pledging last month to adopt artificial intelligence across public services, Canada is moving fast to take the lead. Prime Minister Mark Carney has directed federal ministers to deploy AI “at scale,” launching an overhaul of Canadian governance.

Now dozens of small- and medium-sized businesses across Canada are seeking to join the federal government’s list of pre-qualified AI suppliers, with the tender closing on Sept. 30. Gaining a spot would improve their chances of landing government contracts.

The competition is fierce. At least 36 foreign companies are already on the list, among them global giants like Amazon, Microsoft and IBM, and longtime contractors KPMG and Deloitte. AtkinsRéalis Canada, formerly called SNC-Lavalin, has also thrown its hat in the ring.

For the Canadian startups, qualifying and then winning a single federal contract could establish credibility with one of the largest buyers around, launching decades of growth.

Toronto-area startups are seeing some successes. Ecopia, a local geospatial mapping firm, has been landing contracts since 2017, notably a $6 million deal with the Department of National Defence. (Winning a contract award is a first step, and may not reflect the amount that the government actually pays, if anything.) Ecopia is not yet on the federal suppliers’ list, but says it is seeking a partnership to join. It would bring firepower to a joint venture, having recently graduated from a federal program designed to help small businesses scale up. It received $8 million in federal support over the past two years, according to federal records.

Korah Limited, based in Markham, Ont., has been on the list since 2020. It has secured eight contract awards worth $4.4 million, primarily for building customer-service bots for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and other departments. Korah has received 17 federal grants totalling more than $600,000.

Meanwhile, Cohere, a recent addition to the list offering “an AI workspace tailored for the modern enterprise,” is playing a different game. The startup has contacted officials 72 times over the past 13 months, securing $240 million to build an AI data centre. Cohere was at the centre of a Canada-U.K. agreement on June 15 outlining joint AI efforts in security and intelligence.

Established Indigenous IT contractors have taken strategic positions. IPSS Inc., a local firm that has said it is connected to the Ontario Coalition of Indigenous Peoples, is partnered with ServiceNow, a workflow automation company in Santa Clara, Calif. Donna Cona, linked to Madawaska Maliseet First Nation in New Brunswick, joined forces with Mastech Digital, a data management company based in Pittsburgh, Penn., that’s also connected with ServiceNow.

Versatil BPI, another Ottawa-area contractor offering IT consulting services, has forged a solo path, expanding its offering to “AI solutions.” The firm did not respond to IJF’s questions about its Indigenous affiliation.

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