The federal government’s announcement that it will roll out artificial intelligence in some public service departments has caused understandable concern amongst government workers and their unions. Instead of seeing this as a job killer, workers should see it as a defining moment. 

In fact, the arrival of AI offers opportunities to lead, collaborate, and build a more efficient and innovative government. True, AI will replace some jobs, but it will preserve and enhance others, transforming them and in the long-run, helping the wider Canadian economy.

AI isn’t going away. Fighting it is like sitting in a straw hut on the beach when the tsunami is approaching. What matters is how well we weather it—positioning ourselves now to that ensure that instead of causing a storm, AI can lift all boats.

Lead, Don’t Resist

For Canadian workers and businesses, AI brings the prospect of productivity gains and greater economic value. A recent report from the Conference Board of Canada projects that AI integration across sectors could boost labour productivity by 17.1 per cent over the next 20 years and generate up to C$185-billion in economic value.  

This positive trend has already started. In 2022-23, there were more than 140,000 actively engaged AI professionals, up nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.  

This is the opposite of job killing. It’s job transformation, and if it’s done right, it means mean more services delivered well, less waste, and faster responses for Canadians who access government services.

Some people worry that AI will make the workplace terrible. They seem to be wrong already. A Statistics Canada study estimates that about 31 per cent of employees aged 18-64 are in jobs that might be replaced or heavily altered by AI, but roughly the same amount (29 per cent) are in jobs where AI could enhance their work rather than displace it. As a society, we should embrace a job shift that can mean less repetitive work and more value-added tasks—more high-quality work for Canadians. 

Jobs of the Future for Small and Medium Business

Large bureaucracies have more resources to experiment with AI, but small and medium enterprises (SMEs) ought to benefit, too. But SMEs don’t always have the ability to make early investments. 

Government can lead by example. By reimagining public service roles—everything from AI-aided customer service to and policy innovation—Ottawa set standards and build career templates on which SMEs can draw. If the public sector leads, SMEs can follow more affordably: using frameworks and skill sets already developed, rather than reinventing them.

What Unions Should Be Demanding, and What Government Must Do

Rather than resisting AI, unions can become key stakeholders in how it is deployed. They can fight to ensure: 

• Transparency and ethical frameworks: who decides which tasks are automated? How do we safeguard privacy, fairness, and accountability?
• Reskilling and job transition support: guarantee retraining for workers whose tasks change or whose jobs evolve. For some roles, the work will look different; for others, entirely new titles and skills will emerge;
• Collaboration with Canadian AI firms: Use domestic talent and firms. Keep innovation anchored here; help start-ups, scale-ups, and research labs; and
• Monitoring: study what actually happens—not what we hope happens. Ensure that efficiency gains don’t come at the cost-of-service quality or employee well-being.

Imagine a Government of Canada where clerks who now spend hours on data entry or routine approvals work alongside AI tools to get these tasks done faster. This leaves time for people to focus on oversight, interpretation, policy feedback and better-quality interaction with the public. 

AI can also lead to new jobs, in managing and auditing AI systems and decisions, training, ethical review and stewardship of AI data. 

Many workers move between government and SMEs, and AI can bring opportunities to do this seamlessly. SMEs can hire people who gain experience in the public sector. This helps reduce and cost for smaller employers.

If it’s handled right, the government’s embracing of AI can help Canada become known globally not just for AI research, but for responsible AI use in public service.

AI is here whether we like it or not. Unionized workers and their representatives should not resist it; they should be involved in decisions about what it can do for them and their jobs of the future. They can and help design the future so they will be at the centre of it. Let’s all be AI architects, not bystanders. 

Award-winning entrepreneur and innovator Adam Froman is the founder and CEO of Delvinia.

The Hill Times