Canadian Businesses to Double Down on AI Investments in 2025

In 2025, Canadian businesses are expected to significantly increase their investments in artificial intelligence (AI), according to a recent study commissioned by IBM. The study, conducted by Morning Consult and developed in collaboration with Lopez Research, revealed that 83% of Canadian IT decision-makers (ITDMs) reported progress in executing their 2024 AI strategy, with 42% already seeing positive returns on investment (ROI). This growing interest in AI is driven by the potential for innovation, productivity gains, and long-term benefits, despite limited short-term ROI.

The study found that Canadian businesses are using a combination of buying or leasing AI tools from vendors (65%), using an open-source ecosystem (57%), and in-house development (42%) to implement AI solutions. In 2025, more than half (56%) of Canadian respondents plan to increase their AI investments, while also leveraging open-source ecosystems (41%), hiring specialized talent (41%), evaluating models (43%), and using cloud managed services (49%) to optimize AI implementation.

Canadian organizations face several challenges when implementing AI, including data quality and integration issues. To address these challenges, businesses are planning to use more cloud managed services (49%), evaluate models (43%), and use more open-source tools (41%) and specialized talent (41%). Additionally, 46% of Canadian ITDMs indicated their organizations started between 11 and 20 AI pilots in 2024, compared to 51% globally, highlighting the growing interest in AI adoption.

Open-source tools are becoming a key priority for Canadian organizations, with close to 47% of Canadian ITDMs stating that 25 to 49% of their company's current AI solutions or platforms are based on open-source. This growing interest in open-source tools is expected to drive ROI and innovation for Canadian organizations in 2025.

In conclusion, Canadian businesses are committed to expanding their AI investment in 2025, with a focus on leveraging open-source tools, hiring specialized talent, and optimizing AI implementation. Despite challenges in data quality and integration, Canadian organizations are betting on AI for the long term, prioritizing innovation and productivity gains over traditional financial savings. As the study reveals, the future of AI in Canada looks promising, with businesses poised to reap the benefits of this transformative technology.