Poll suggests 85% of Canadians want governments to regulate AI

OTTAWA — A new poll indicates an overwhelming majority of Canadians are in favour of regulating artificial intelligence, and almost half are worried it will contribute to cognitive decline.

The Leger poll found 85 per cent of respondents believe governments should regulate AI tools to ensure ethical and safe use. More than half, 57 per cent, said they strongly agreed with that statement.

The survey, which polled 1,518 people between Aug. 22 and Aug. 25, was conducted online and can’t be assigned a margin of error.

Canada’s artificial-intelligence minister, Evan Solomon, has said he will put less emphasis on AI regulation, amidst a global shift in which governments are focusing on AI adoption and away from safety and governance..

The Trudeau government put forward an AI regulation bill targeting “high-impact” systems, but Bill C-27 did not become law before the election was called, and it’s not clear whether, or in what form, it will be re-introduced.

The poll found despite strong concerns about potential harms of AI, use of AI has increased 10 per cent since March, with 57 per cent of respondents saying they have used an AI tool.

More than three quarters of respondents, 78 per cent, said AI tools threaten human jobs, and nearly half, 46 per cent, said they worried using AI in their daily life might make them “intellectually lazy” or decline their cognitive skills.

The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys can’t be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2025.