Nov 3, 2026
Canada’s newest artificial intelligence (AI) investor isn’t a Silicon Valley venture fund. It’s you.
On Oct. 29, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the federal government will take an equity stake of up to $1.6 billion in Toronto-founded AI company Cohere. He pitched the deal as a way for every Canadian to share in the company’s success.
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Not everyone is cheering, however. In September, a national poll found three in five Canadians consider AI a threat to humanity. So when Ottawa commits tax dollars to a technology many of us distrust, it’s worth knowing how much of your money is already tied to AI — whether through your taxes and, indirectly, your pension — and how to protect it from the scams that tend to capitalize on headlines like these.
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What exactly is Ottawa buying for $1.6 billion?
Cohere builds AI systems for businesses and governments that want tighter control over where their data is stored and who can access it. According to a news release from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the federal money will flow in stages, instead of a lumpsum, and is tied to regular progress reports.
In return, Cohere has committed to create at least 1,000 technical jobs nationwide and spend at least $1.7 billion on Canadian computing infrastructure by 2030. It must also keep its headquarters and incorporation within Canada.
Ottawa’s money is part of a funding round targeting up to $7 billion that would value Cohere at $35.7 billion. And the federal government has backed the company before. In March 2025, it finalized up to $240 million toward a $725 million Cohere project to expand computing capacity in Canada. That money was earmarked for one project, but with its latest commitment, Ottawa is now taking an ownership stake in the company itself.
One detail the PMO release doesn’t include: what percentage of the company taxpayers will own.
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How worried are Canadians about AI?
The unease around AI is growing. Research Co., a Vancouver-based public opinion firm, found 60% of Canadians think AI is a threat to humanity, which is up 10 points from 2025. Only 31% see it as an opportunity, while 18% would rather AI development be abandoned altogether.
The worry is backed by financial concerns. Nearly three in four Canadians (74%) fear AI bots could drain their bank accounts, and 61% sometimes feel it’s hopeless to protect themselves from AI-related encroachment.
Seeing AI as a threat is most common among Canadians 55 and older (63%), followed by those aged 18 to 34 (63%), while those aged 35 to 54 are the least worried (44%). Women are also more likely than men to expect AI to hurt them or their families, according to Mario Canseco, Research Co. president.
Is your money already invested in AI?
For taxpayers, the answer will soon be yes since Ottawa has committed up to $1.6 billion. But many Canadians may have had a small stake in Cohere before this latest announcement.
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The company’s existing backers include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), which invests the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) fund on behalf of working Canadians outside of Quebec. If you’re a federal public servant or a member of the Canadian Armed Forces or Royal Canadian Mounted Police, your pension is invested by another Cohere backer, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Ontario hospital and healthcare workers have a link as well through the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).
However, these are large, diversified funds, so one private company is just a sliver of their portfolios. And because CPP benefits and defined-benefit pensions — like those managed by PSP Investments and HOOPP — are calculated by formula rather than tied to individual investments, Cohere’s fortunes won’t directly impact your monthly cheque. What a single bet can affect, to a limited extent, is how well funded these plans are over the long term.
Cohere is growing, but it’s still working toward turning a profit. It brought in US$240 million in annual recurring revenue in 2025, beating its own forecast, according to an investor memo reported by The Globe and Mail. Cohere’s co-founder and chief executive Aidan Gomez has said he expects the company to turn a profit before 2029. Since Cohere isn’t publicly traded, there’s nothing to buy or sell in your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or tax-free savings account (TFSA) — and no reason to make snap trades in other AI stocks because of it.
Could the Cohere buzz make you a scam target?
Fraudsters routinely capitalize on splashy investment headlines to lure in unsuspecting victims. Watch for fake ads, “exclusive” pre-IPO offers and AI-generated videos of public figures pitching fictitious government-backed AI investments.
Canadians reported losing more than $704 million to fraud in 2025, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), the national agency that collects fraud reports. And 2026 is on track to match that eye-watering sum: Canadians reported about $351 million in losses in the first six months of the year, with investment fraud again the costliest type at roughly $139.6 million. The CAFC estimates only 5% to 10% of fraud is ever reported, so the real toll is likely far higher.
What to do now
While you can’t opt out of Ottawa’s bet, but you can control your own exposure and vulnerability to scams:
- Check your AI exposure: for each mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) in your RRSP or TFSA, look at the top 10 holdings in its Fund Facts or ETF Facts document, and review your workplace pension’s annual report
- Ignore pitches for “Cohere shares”: The company is private, so unsolicited offers to get in early are a red flag
- Verify sellers: Use the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) National Registration Search before handing over money
- Hang up and call back: If your “bank” contacts you, dial the number on the back of your card
- Report fraud: Contact the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501, even if you didn’t lose money
- Watch the scorecard: Ottawa has said it will track regular reports on Cohere’s job and investment commitments
You don’t have to love AI to have a financial stake in it, and for most Canadians that exposure is oftentimes small and indirect. The bigger day-to-day threat is the one that three in four already fear: someone using AI to gain access to their bank account. Guard against that first, then judge Ottawa’s bet on its results.
Survey methodology
The Research Co. online survey was conducted between Sept. 10 and Sept. 12, 2026, among 1,008 adults in Canada. Results were statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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Writer and editor based in Toronto with experience in personal finance, insurance, arts and culture and branded content.
