Former Toronto journalist named Canada's first AI minister

Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled changes to his cabinet on Tuesday, including the first artificial intelligence (AI) minister.

Former CBC and CTV journalist Evan Solomon was sworn in as the minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation. Solomon was elected for the first time in the April 28 election in the Toronto Centre riding. 

Solomon was fired by CBC in 2015 after The Toronto Star published a report alleging that he had brokered art deals with people he'd also spoken to as a journalist, including Carney and former BlackBerry executive Jim Balsillie.

It's a notable change for AI, which previously fell under the industry minister's purview. Former foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly now heads the industry portfolio.

It remains to be seen what Carney's government will do with AI going forward. The previous federal government introduced a bill that aimed to regulate AI, but it didn't become law before the election was called.

However, Carney brought up AI during the election campaign, promising to invest in AI training, adoption, and commercialization. He also made promises to improve government efficiency through AI.

It's not clear if Carney plans to pursue regulation, either by bringing back the previous bill or tabling new legislation. That said, the Liberal party platform did include a promise to make distributing non-consensual sexual deepfakes a criminal offence.