Canada's Minister of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Evan Solomon does not rule out the possibility of American companies playing a role in Canadian development. cloud sovereign strategy.
“The Cloud Act prevents the US government from just coming in and grabbing your data at any time; they need bench warrants.”
Solomon made the announcement Thursday morning at Solink's Ottawa headquarters after celebrating its expansion. Asked by reporters whether U.S. companies have a role in developing cloud sovereignty in Canada, Solomon said the government is still developing a definition of “sovereignty” and that the concept involves legal, operational, technical and policy considerations.
“We're working on this definition because it means there are legal definitions of 'chain of command' and 'under control' to ensure you're not being coerced,” Solomon said.
“In terms of one aspect, the definition of sovereignty and, technically, how that works in our infrastructure, yes, there could be room for multiple players,” he added.
Sovereign data has become subject of conversation among Canada relationship change with the United States. American companies own almost a third of Canada's 283 data centers and Prime Minister Mark Carney recently dubbed The development of a “Canadian sovereign cloud” is a top priority for the new Major Projects Directorate.
CONNECTED: Canada hopes to create a sovereign cloud to counter US dominance. It won't be easy
Although many Canadian players stepped forward to power Canada's sovereign cloud, American giants such as OpenAI And Google also threw their hat into the ring. However, storing Canadian information in American-owned data centers raises concerns about both US Cloud Act and the long-standing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Data hosted on servers owned by US companies could potentially be released to US law enforcement upon request.
Solomon, who called digital sovereignty, “the most pressing political and democratic issue of our time,” downplayed concerns about the implications of the US CLOUD Act. He told reporters there was “a lot of hype” about its potential impact “for real reasons” but that the government was planning for “any contingency.”
“People just appreciate it: The CLOUD Act prevents the US government from just coming in and grabbing your data at any time; they need bench warrants,” Solomon said. “There are a lot of things in it that we look at very carefully and that we need to be pragmatic and cautious about, but that is the main thing, and it will be in aspects of how we define sovereignty.”
Canadian Sovereign Cloud Tutorial
As unpredictable U.S. policies heighten concerns about data sovereignty, Canadian policymakers and companies are racing to make a “Canadian cloud sovereignty” a reality.
• Carney says new major projects office will help build 'Canadian sovereign cloud'
• Canada hopes to create a sovereign cloud to counter US dominance. It won't be easy
• Telus opens first Sovereign AI Factory in Rimovsky
• Mila partners with Hypertec and 5C to launch Sovereign AI Research Center in Montreal
• Canadian cloud providers team up to launch sovereign cloud offering for government
On Thursday morning, Solomon also provided reporters with an update on the government's actions. Artificial Intelligence Task Forceduring which industry and academic leaders were selected to collect and provide feedback on the updated federal artificial intelligence strategy by November 1st. The minister said the government needed to “absorb” more than 6,500 reviews and set the launch of an updated artificial intelligence strategy by either the end of 2025 or January 2026.
“This is primarily a listening exercise; it’s not prepared in advance,” Solomon said. “We'll just have to see where it goes.”
Solomon was also tease a new initiative to support Canada's quantum computing sector in recent weeks. When BetaKit asked for details, Solomon said it would be a “critical” program to keep Canadian intellectual property and companies in the country. Solomon added that the program will be launched “very soon” and its launch date is in doubt due to the upcoming federal budget.
“Canada often leads the way in research, but when it comes to commercialization, the challenge is staying ahead,” Solomon said. “This program is designed to ensure we can capitalize on our industry-leading leadership in quantum and keep these incredible companies in Canada.”
Artistic image provided by Alex Riehl for BetaKit
