A new IBM study finds that Canadian organizations are accelerating AI adoption, but governance, workforce readiness and accountability are struggling to keep up.
Toronto, June 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As Canadian CEOs accelerate AI adoption to drive productivity and growth, executives across Canada are warning of a widening “control gap” as governance, oversight and workforce readiness struggle to keep up.
New findings from two global IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) surveys, one of 2,000 CEOs and another of 2,000 C-suite technology leaders, reveal a common challenge. That means Canadian executives are facing a growing disconnect between their ambitions to extend AI across the enterprise and the organizational and governance foundations aligned to support it.
Although 90% of Canadian CEOs say they are incorporating AI into multiple workflows and 80% believe they are implementing AI at the pace needed to achieve business goals, only 43% of AI initiatives have achieved the expected return on investment over the past two years.
“Canadian organizations are still figuring out how to scale AI responsibly,” said Manav Gupta, vice president and CTO, IBM Canada. “What we are seeing is a growing gap between the speed of adoption and the governance, operating models, and workforce readiness needed to support it. Closing this gap is critical to realizing the full value of AI and remaining competitive.”
AI ambitions exceed surveillance
Canadian C-suite technology leaders surveyed expect to deploy an average of 1,189 AI agents by 2027, a 36% increase from today. This shows how quickly AI is moving from experimentation to everyday work.
However, only 9% of Canadian technology leaders feel fully prepared for the upcoming wave of AI adoption.
At the same time, more than two-thirds (68%) say they are responsible for AI systems they do not fully control, and nearly three-quarters (73%) report that AI deployment is outpacing their IT governance capabilities. In fact, half (50%) of Canadian CIOs and CTOs cite security and compliance concerns as the main barrier to effectively scaling AI.
Labor is very important but undervalued
The CEO survey also points to more pressing human challenges as the use of AI expands.
80% of Canadian CEOs agree that AI success depends more on employee adoption than the technology itself.
Canadian CEOs predict that by 2028, more than half (53%) of their employees will need to upskill for their current role, and nearly a third (29%) will need to completely reskill for a new role.
