A sample of 1,539 Canadians and 1,000 Americans over the age of 18 were randomly selected for the survey. The questionnaire had 25 questions and was collected between Feb. 10 and Feb. 12.
The survey found the majority (65 per cent) of Canadian respondents had not used an AI tool, with 19 per cent saying they had in a “personal context” only. About nine per cent said they had used AI for work or school.
Broken down by age, about 44 per cent who said they had used AI tools were between the ages of 18 to 34.
According to the data, Alberta had the highest number of people (30 per cent) who had used AI before, followed by 26 per cent of respondents in Ontario and 24 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Overall, 25 per cent of Canadians say they had used AI before, versus 21 per cent of Americans.
‘DO YOU TRUST AI TOOLS?’
Overwhelmingly, many Canadians do not trust AI to be involved in their more personal day-to-day life.
When asked if they would trust AI to teach children, about 48 per cent said “not at all.” Similarly, 43 per cent said they would not trust AI to transport them from one place to another without a driver.
About 41 per cent of Canadians said they wouldn’t trust AI to help find them a life partner.
However, when it comes to completing tasks at home or answering questions about a product online, Canadians are more likely to trust AI. About 46 per cent said they trust the tech to turn down music or adjust the thermostat in their home.
Roughly 41 per cent said they would “somewhat” trust AI to answer questions via a website chat.
According to the survey, younger Canadians tended to trust AI more than older Canadians with many tasks.
The reason Canadians may not trust AI could be linked to people believing “they lack emotion/ empathy required to make good decisions.” About 37 per cent strongly agreed AI can’t make good decisions due to its lack of human emotion.
Canadians also said they believe AI is susceptible to fraud or hacking.
‘HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH AI TOOLS?’
AI can come in many forms, such as smart home features or facial recognition detection technology. The majority of Canadians (41 per cent) are “somewhat familiar” the survey says, with home-based AI tools like robot vacuums.
Canadians were second-most familiar with facial detection software AI tools, with 38 per cent saying they were somewhat familiar.
Tools like ChatGPT and Synthesia which create content such as text, images and voices are the most unfamiliar to Canadians, according to the survey. About 43 per cent of respondents said they were “not at all familiar” with the AI tools.
Younger Canadians, aged 18 to 34, were more familiar with AI tools than older Canadians above the age of 35.
Canadians aged 18 to 34 were most familiar (65 per cent) with home-based AI tools and least familiar (43 per cent) with content creation AI like ChatGPT. Older Canadians were least likely to be familiar with any AI tools.
Between Canada and the U.S., Americans were more familiar across the board with all AI tools, despite not using them as much as Canadians.
The survey found the majority (65 per cent) of Canadian respondents had not used an AI tool, with 19 per cent saying they had in a ‘personal context’ only. (Graph by Natasha O’Neill with data from Leger)
‘DO YOU BELIEVE AI IS GOOD FOR SOCIETY?’
With somewhat of an understanding of how AI works and what it is used for, about 36 per cent of Canadians believed the tech is good for society. The positive opinion increased to 52 percent for younger Canadians and decreased for those aged 55 and older to 25 per cent, the survey shows.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents were most likely (39 per cent) to believe AI is bad for society compared to the second-highest (31 per cent) negative response from B.C. respondents.
Compared to the U.S., Canadians had better positive attitudes towards AI than Americans, with 36 per cent of respondents from Canada saying the tech is good for society compared to 32 per cent of respondents from the States.
————–
A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would have a margin of error ±2.50%, 19 times out of 20 for the Canadian sample and of ±3.09%, 19 times out of 20 for the American sample. The results presented in this study comply with the public opinion research standards and disclosure requirements of CRIC (the Canadian Research and Insights Council) and the global ESOMAR network.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
