Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada. Image: Lars Hagberg/Canadian PM's Office
A new national AI strategy puts sovereignty front and centre as Canada moves to reduce its dependence on foreign cloud and AI providers.
On Wednesday, the European Commission launched its Technological Sovereignty Package, introducing new legislation to loosen the grip of US Big Tech on European cloud and AI infrastructure. Now Canada has followed suit with its own ‘AI for All’ strategy, built around six pillars and with the explicit goal of ensuring Canadians can “adopt, build, and govern AI on their own terms”.
“We will strengthen Canadian sovereignty at a time when it is being deeply challenged,” the strategy states, in a clear reference to tense relations with its neighbours under the Trump administration.
“Too much Canadian innovation is captured and scaled elsewhere,” the strategy states. “In an era where prosperity, resilience, and sovereignty increasingly depend on the ability to build and govern AI on national terms, these are vulnerabilities Canada cannot leave unaddressed.”
