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MONTREAL — The European Union’s democracy commissioner said he won’t “lecture” Canada or any other country as the EU pushes ahead on regulating tech platforms and artificial intelligence.
Michael McGrath, the EU commissioner for democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection, is visiting Canada, as the Liberal government pursues an AI policy that puts less emphasis on regulation and more on adoption. He said the EU is pushing ahead on regulating tech platforms and artificial intelligence.
“It’s not for us to lecture … any third country. Each country will decide their own system of governance and their system of regulation in relation to technology,” he told The Canadian Press in an interview following a speech at a conference in Montreal focusing on ongoing threats to global digital regulation.
“But in the European Union, we believe that to defend the values that we have spoken about, it is crucial that we do have guardrails in place.”
He cited EU laws covering digital services, artificial intelligence and privacy and said the EU would “continue to stand up for and defend our approach.”
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon has cited the United States’ anti-regulation stance as a reason to go easy on regulatory efforts, saying Canada would be wasting its time by going it alone.
AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, who has been a global advocate for AI safety and transparency, told the same conference Canada should partner with allies like the European Union.
He agreed Canada is too small to have influence by itself.
“It should be very busy forming partnerships with other countries,” Bengio said.
“The incentives are not there in the U.S. right now, but I think Europeans, Canadians and other liberal democracies do care about these things a lot more.”
He added that “together they can make a difference.”
Global attitudes have swung from a focus on AI safety and governance towards the technology’s economic potential.
The first global summit focusing on AI safety was held in 2023 as experts warned of the technology’s dangers — including the risk that it could pose an existential threat to humanity. But by the time this year’s AI Action Summit began in Paris, the focus was broader and U.S. Vice-President JD Vance used his speech to push back on European efforts to regulate AI.
Bengio said the reason for the change is an anti-regulation push.
“There are a few very powerful people who have different views about the future,” he said, pointing to millions that have been invested in fighting members of U.S. Congress who favour AI regulation.
“Look at what’s happening in government where big tech is now … in bed with the government,” he said.
“I think we are in a very dangerous place, in terms of our democracy and the dangers that can come from not seeing humans at the centre of our future.”
In the interview, McGrath said Canada’s relationship with the U.S. is clearly very important.
“But also the relationship with the European Union, I think, is becoming more important,” he said.
He added the EU respects the right of every country to decide its own policies but that it’s better for like-minded nations to be aligned on what he called “big global questions.”
McGrath said the EU, with its 27 member states, is large enough to make a real difference.
“We represent 450 million consumers. That is the largest and most lucrative market that these big tech companies operate within,” he added.
In an appearance at the conference at the end of the day Thursday, Solomon reiterated his plans to partially bring back legislation proposed by the previous Liberal government.
Bill C-27 would have updated Canada’s privacy laws but also introduced Canada’s first federal legislation specifically aimed at artificial intelligence, and would have introduced new obligations for “high-impact” systems.
Solomon said he plans to bring forward a bill updating privacy laws and measures specifically around deepfakes. He called the AI portion of the previous bill “very controversial.”
When he was asked about Bengio’s remarks, Solomon told reporters he wasn’t present to hear the comments but said he is in regular contact with Bengio.
“We are talking to our EU allies all the time,” he added.
McGrath said he wants to find common ground with Canada on digital consumer protection issues.
“We all face similar challenges with the Chinese e-commerce platforms,” he said, adding the EU believes those platforms must respect consumer protection laws and safety standards.
“I think engagement with Canada and other like-minded partners on that is absolutely crucial.”
McGrath also plans to talk to MPs about the threats to democracy posed by deepfakes and artificial intelligence, as well as foreign interference.
He noted many of those threats are coming from the online environment.
“These are issues that have the potential to have a material impact on elections, and we certainly cannot ignore the risk,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2025.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
