ManitobaThe federal government is spending $2.3 million to boost artificial intelligence innovation in Manitoba.Manitoba must act now or ‘risk being left behind’ when it comes to AI: tech CEOCBC News · Posted: Oct 15, 2025 4:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours agoLouie Ghiz, executive director of New Media Manitoba, says the federal funding will support the use of artificial intelligence in Manitoba industries that haven’t used it before, including bioscience, construction, as well as film and television production. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)The federal government is spending $2.3 million to support artificial intelligence innovation in Manitoba.The money will help companies adopt AI and bring new technologies to market, MP Ginette Lavack (St. Boniface-St. Vital), told reporters at a Wednesday news conference.New Media Manitoba, a non-profit sector council and industry association representing the province’s interactive digital media industry, will distribute the funds to create 77 new digital media jobs in the province, including 17 for young people early in their careers, Lavack said.The money will also train up to 100 people to work with AI, help 50 small- and medium-sized businesses adopt AI technologies, and allow New Media Manitoba to integrate AI into its StudioLab xR digital media studio and training centre in Winnipeg, she said.”AI is changing our world, and very rapidly so,” she said. “The question isn’t if Canada is going to be a part of this transformation, it’s how we make sure Canadian companies, workers and communities are leading it.”‘AI can free people’Louie Ghiz, executive director of New Media Manitoba, says the funding will support the use of artificial intelligence in Manitoba industries that haven’t used it before, including bioscience, construction, as well as film and television production.”We are creating a foundation for innovation that extends across Manitoba’s entire economy,” he said.”While AI has some concerned about job displacement, we believe that AI can free people up from mundane, routine tasks to focus on higher value areas that will have greater impact.”Christian Dandeneau, CEO of ID Fusion — a Winnipeg software development company that advises businesses on how to incorporate new technologies — says AI is not a “passing trend,” but a “fundamental shift.””It’s one that is moving at a pace that we have not seen yet [and has a] rate of change that is sometimes exhausting to keep up with,” he said.”My message to all Manitobans today is that we have to act. We have to act now, or we risk being left behind.”
Canada spends $2.3M to boost AI innovation in Manitoba
