Canada ranks fifth out of 56 Commonwealth countries for how well prepared its young people are for artificial intelligence. But it lags on teaching them to actually use it, according to a new index from a privately funded think tank.
The Ayre Index was released this week at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, which Prime Minister Mark Carney attended. It was produced by the Ayre Think Tank, founded by Antiguan-Canadian entrepreneur Calvin Ayre. The index scores countries on conditions facing the Commonwealth’s 732 million people aged 15 to 29, covering connectivity, skills, education, employment, enterprise and safeguards. The think tank says it drew on 1,128 published sources.
Canada strong on access, weaker on training
Singapore topped the index, followed by Malta, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. Canada’s overall score was 70.2 out of 100. It scored 9.4 out of 10 for meaningful access to technology and the same for digital, data, media and AI capability, but only 5.3 for education and training.
The think tank points to a gap between access and use. In its analysis of OECD PISA 2025 data, 37.7 per cent of Canadian 15-year-olds said they used AI chatbots for schoolwork at least weekly, compared with an OECD average of about 46 per cent. It also cites Statistics Canada research finding that only 10 per cent of employed 15- to 24-year-olds used generative AI at work over a 12-month period. The index also found no explicit reference to AI in the teacher-policy evidence it used for Canada, which came from UNESCO’s country profile.
“Canada needs to ensure its education systems equip young people to move beyond readiness and become AI fluent,” said Lisa Taylor, founder and CEO of the workforce consultancy Challenge Factory, in the think tank’s release.
A widening global gap
Only 15 of the 56 countries met the index’s benchmark for youth AI readiness. Applying International Monetary Fund scenarios, the think tank estimates those 15 could see their economies grow by a combined US$389.2 billion over 10 years under a moderate scenario. It puts the figure at $29.2 billion for the other 41 countries combined. That gap of about $360 billion is twice the $174 billion in development aid that major donor countries gave last year, it says.
For Canada, the same approach gives an estimated AI-related boost to GDP of C$100.85 billion over a decade under the moderate scenario, ranging from C$51.19 billion to C$150.44 billion.
Malawi and Lesotho ranked last. Only three of the Commonwealth’s 21 African members, Mauritius, South Africa and Nigeria, met the benchmark. The report argues that access alone isn’t enough. In Togo, 4G coverage reaches almost everyone but fewer than half of young people use the internet. In Nigeria, about 90 per cent of young people surveyed expected to use AI for work or school within a year, but the country scored 0.8 out of 10 on conventional digital capability. And meeting the benchmark doesn’t guarantee jobs: South Africa qualified, but 46.3 per cent of its young labour force was unemployed.
What it recommends
The accompanying white paper lists five priorities: affordable and reliable access to technology, education that builds practical skills, stronger routes from training into jobs and business, AI tools suited to local languages and needs, and safeguards that let young people challenge automated decisions.
About the index
The Ayre Index is a first edition, published by a think tank funded by its founder. It hasn’t been peer-reviewed. The economic figures are illustrative estimates that apply IMF scenarios rather than forecasts. The think tank itself notes there is little comparable evidence on young people’s actual AI skills in some countries. This article is based on the think tank’s published summaries and news releases. The full report requires a download from its website.
Source: Ayre Think Tank, “The 2026 Commonwealth Youth AI Readiness Index,” and news releases of Nov. 5, 2026.
