Canadian AI sovereignty requires more than just servers

If we spend billions of dollars building domestic infrastructure only to run opaque, proprietary models licensed from Silicon Valley giants, we have not achieved independence.

AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon. The funding for artificial intelligence is historic and necessary, but the current conversation around AI sovereignty in Canada is dangerously myopic, writes Daniel Escott.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY DANIEL ESCOTT

November 27, 2025

The Government of Canada has finally made a substantial investment in the future of artificial intelligence. The recent federal budget commitment of nearly $1-billion targeted specifically for sovereign...

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