At the AI Impact Global Summit in New Delhi, Canadian province Ontario's Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Minister Victor Fedeli struck an upbeat, business-first tone, pitching his province as the "cradle of artificial intelligence" while calling for deeper India-Canada collaboration on technology, trade, and talent amid global economic churn.
Speaking to NDTV's Senior Executive Editor Aditya Raj Kaul on the sidelines of the summit, which has drawn delegates from more than 70 countries with a strong presence from the Global South, Fedeli said India's rise as an AI powerhouse presents a natural partnership opportunity for Ontario, home to some of the world's most influential AI research.
"Ontario, Canada, is the birthplace. It's the cradle of AI," Fedeli said, pointing to Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, whose work on machine learning helped lay the foundations of modern artificial intelligence. "Dr. Hinton just won his Nobel Prize last year...and since that time, Ontario has been at the forefront."
Fedeli highlighted the province's talent pipeline and research ecosystem, anchored by the Vector Institute in Toronto. "We're pumping out through Ontario 86,000 STEM graduates every year...about 1,100 AI masters every year," he said, adding that enrolments are rising sharply. "It's our duty to the people of Canada and to the people of the world to make sure that we're pushing forward."
The minister also welcomed India's decision to host the summit, saying New Delhi could emerge as a global "melting pot" for AI collaboration. While asserting Ontario's leadership, he was emphatic about India's growing role. "There's a tremendous amount of AI work being done here, very leading-edge work in India. Very proud of the work that India is doing," Fedeli said.
Beyond innovation, Fedeli stressed governance and trust issues central to the summit's agenda. He pointed to Ontario's recent legislation mandating transparency in government use of AI. "Every time we as a government use AI, we're going to let [citizens] know that we're using AI, how it's being used, and why," he said. "We also want them to be informed of the risks and how we plan on protecting the public."
On the global debate around AI ethics, bias, and state control, Fedeli argued that public awareness must keep pace with technological change. "It depends on which country you're in then as to how far you go with AI," he said, warning against assumptions that national models are universally applicable. "There do need to be continued debates—whether it's standards that get set or agreements that are made."
The conversation quickly widened to trade, with Fedeli signalling strong provincial support for reviving negotiations on the long-discussed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Canada. Despite diplomatic headwinds in recent years, he insisted Ontario's approach has remained steady. "Those challenges will be worked out by the federal government. That's a geopolitical issue," he said. "Here in Ontario... the business fundamentals have not changed, so let's just get down to business."
Fedeli said Ottawa's renewed interest—following signals from the federal leadership after recent diplomatic visits—could "hit a reset button, but not reset to where we were, but reset to where we're going. " He linked the urgency to global trade disruptions, particularly tariff volatility driven by the United States. "I call it the Trump accelerator," he said bluntly. "It's pushing countries to look elsewhere and fall into each other's arms."
That unpredictability, he added, has paradoxically benefited Ontario. "People look across the ocean, and they see this beacon of hope in Ontario," Fedeli said, citing stability, rule of law, and predictability as magnets for investment. He claimed billions of dollars in new investment and tens of thousands of jobs were created last year, with official figures due soon.
Fedeli also pointed out the value of people-to-people ties, noting that nearly a million people of Indian origin live in Ontario. "I come here twice a year because my boss, Premier Doug Ford, expects results," he said. "The diaspora is proud that no matter what's happening nationally, we're here representing them."
As India pushes its Global South-focused AI agenda under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fedeli said Ontario is keen to convert dialogue into deals. "We always come here expecting to do deals," he said. "And we always expect to land something."
