Last month, North Forge had the pleasure of attending the Bioscience Association of Manitoba’s (BAM) AI Summit. Held in partnership with Pharmaceutical Services Group (PSG) and the Manitoba Association of AI Professionals (MAAIP), the one‑day event brought together nearly 150 experts, innovators, industry professionals, academics, and policy‑makers for an immersive look at the transformative power of AI in healthcare, agriculture, clean technologies, and beyond.

Here are the five biggest lessons we walked away with from the summit:
1. AI Is Reshaping Global Competition
The pace of AI adoption is no longer incremental — it’s exponential. Companies that embrace these tools today will position themselves to grow at a rate their competitors simply won’t be able to match tomorrow.
Key insights included:
Accessibility: AI tools are becoming widely available; the differentiator is how effectively organizations use them.
Urgency: The companies that act now will lead tomorrow.
Collaboration: Success will come from ecosystems that share real data and work together rather than in silos.
2. Real AI Applications Are Already Driving Impact in Manitoba
In Manitoba, AI is evolving from a mere buzzword into a tangible force. Whether in healthcare or agriculture, groundbreaking innovation is flourishing right here at home.
Examples included:
Healthcare: Victoria General Hospital is piloting AI to improve triage and patient flow, cutting ER wait times.
Agriculture: EMILI uses AI‑powered drones and sensors to predict crop yields, enabling smarter farming with higher returns.
Diagnostics: CancerCare Manitoba is applying AI to analyze pathology, genomic, and imaging data, delivering better patient outcomes.
The work we’re doing in our province is admirable — but if we want to outpace global leaders, then more organizations than ever before need to accept that AI is here to stay, and be prepared to work with it, not against it.
3. Implementing AI Requires Focused Strategy
The difference between successful and stalled AI projects often comes down to clarity. When organizations focus on solving one meaningful problem with the data they already have, they create momentum that fuels further innovation.
Don’t:
Build overly complex models with limited data.
Create dashboards no one uses.
Try to predict everything at once.
Do:
Focus on high‑impact problems.
Pick one problem to solve first.
Start with a simple model using data you already collect.
Integrate AI into tools your teams already use
4. Manitoba’s Next Big Bets in AI
It’s clear that our province is uniquely positioned to lead in sectors that matter most to our future — healthcare, agriculture, and clean technology. By focusing our energy on these areas, we can create ripple effects of innovation that extend far beyond Manitoba.
Potential areas of leadership include:
Forecast & Predict: crop yields, energy demand, clinical trial outcomes.
Analyze & Detect: plant diseases, medical images, soil health, grid anomalies.
Optimize & Automate: equipment routes, diagnostics, bio-manufacturing.
Connect Systems: lab automation, supply chains, sustainable design.
5. Continuous AI Adoption Matters More Than Tools
One of the most important truths of the day: AI isn’t a one‑time project — it’s an ongoing evolution. Organizations that build cultures of continuous adoption will outpace those who treat AI as a box to check.
Guiding questions for organizations included:
Are your internal operations AI‑native?
Are your vendors leveraging AI?
Do your products or services embed AI at their core?
Final Thoughts
The AI Summit made it clear that Manitoba isn’t just participating in the AI era — we’re helping shape it. North Forge was proud to host a booth at the event, as we believe in supporting the innovators, founders, and big thinkers who are building what's next. Our CEO and President, Joelle Foster, had the honour of introducing keynote speaker Curtis Nybo of CGI, whose insights on AI and quantum computing underscored the depth of transformation already underway. CGI continues to lead globally in delivering practical, ethical, and high‑impact AI solutions that help organizations innovate responsibly and at scale.
A huge thank‑you to the Bioscience Association of Manitoba for bringing together such an engaged, forward‑thinking community, and to the Manitoba Association of AI Professionals, whose mission to empower and unite AI professionals through innovation, collaboration, and ethical leadership was felt throughout the day.