Canada’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) minister, Evan Solomon, isn’t ruling out American companies playing a part in Canada’s sovereign cloud strategy.
“The Cloud Act does not allow the US government at any point to just come in and grab your data; they need judicial warrants.”
Solomon made the remarks Thursday morning at Solink’s Ottawa headquarters, after commemorating its expansion. When asked by reporters if there’s a role for American companies in Canada’s sovereign cloud effort, Solomon said the government is still working out the definition of “sovereignty,” and that the concept comes with legal, operational, technical, and political considerations.
“We’re working on the definition, because it means there’s legal definitions of ‘chain of command’ and ‘under control,’ making sure that you’re not subjected to coercion,” Solomon said.
“On one aspect, the definition of sovereignty, and, technically, how that works in our infrastructure, yes, there may be room for multiple players,” he added.
Sovereign data has become a talking point amidst Canada’s changing relationship with the United States. American firms own nearly a third of Canada’s 283 data centres, and Prime Minister Mark Carney recently dubbed the development of a “Canadian sovereign cloud” a top priority of the new Major Projects Office.
RELATED: Canada hopes to build a sovereign cloud to counter US dominance. It won’t be easy
While many Canadian players have stepped forward to power Canada’s sovereign cloud, American giants like OpenAI and Google have also put their hat in the ring. However, storing Canadian information in American-owned data centres raises concerns about both the US Cloud Act and the longstanding Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Data hosted on servers owned by US companies can potentially be turned over to US law enforcement by request.
Solomon, who has called digital sovereignty “the most pressing policy and democratic issue of our time,” downplayed concerns about the US Cloud Act’s ramifications. He told reporters there is “a lot of hype” around its potential ramifications “for real reasons,” but that the government is planning for “any contingency.”
“Just so folks appreciate it: the Cloud Act does not allow the US government at any point to just come in and grab your data; they need judicial warrants,” Solomon said. “There’s lots of things in it that we’re looking at very closely, that we have to be pragmatic and careful about, but it’s top of mind and will be in aspects of how we define sovereignty.”
Canadian sovereign cloud primer
As unpredictable US policy spurs concern about data sovereignty, Canadian policymakers and companies are racing to make a “Canadian sovereign cloud” a reality.
• Carney says new Major Projects Office will help build a “Canadian sovereign cloud”
• Canada hopes to build a sovereign cloud to counter US dominance. It won’t be easy
• Telus opens inaugural Sovereign AI Factory in Rimouski
• Mila partners with Hypertec and 5C to launch Sovereign AI Research Hub in Montréal
• Canadian cloud providers unite to launch sovereign cloud offering for government
On Thursday morning, Solomon also provided reporters with an update on the government’s AI task force, which selected industry and academic leaders to solicit and provide feedback on a refreshed federal AI strategy by Nov.1. The minister said the government has to “absorb” the over so-far 6,500 feedback submissions, and pegged the launch of the renewed AI strategy for either the end of 2025 or January 2026.
“This is a listening exercise first and foremost; it’s not pre-baked,” Solomon said. “We’ve got to just see where it’s going.”
Solomon has also been teasing a new initiative to support Canada’s quantum computing sector in recent weeks. When BetaKit asked for details, Solomon said it will be a “critically important” program to keep Canadian intellectual property and companies in the country. Solomon added that the program will roll out “very soon,” with its launch date in limbo due to the upcoming federal budget
“Canada often takes a research leadership position, and then when it comes to commercialization, there is a challenge in staying ahead,” Solomon said. “This is a program designed to make sure that we capitalize on our frontier leadership in quantum, and make sure that we keep those incredible companies in Canada.”
Feature image courtesy Alex Riehl for BetaKit