U.S. pressures Canada to roll back on data sovereignty, a high-priority issue in CUSMA renegotiation

Every dollar U.S. Big Tech can extract from Canada makes America richer and U.S. Big Tech more powerful—while making Canada more dependent on U.S. Big Tech giants and more vulnerable to their laws. And the more powerful U.S. Big Tech becomes here, the less the potential to build up Canadian firms and generate wealth and good jobs for Canada.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, 2026. The Trump administration has already scored one win, successfully pressing Canada to rescind the digital services tax, which was to ensure that U.S. Big Tech firms paid tax on their massive revenues in Canada.Photograph courtesy of the World Economic Forum/Benedikt von Loebell

Opinion

BY DAVID CRANE

February 2, 2026

TORONTO—There’s no mystery as to why the United States is putting so much pressure on Canada to roll back policies to ensure data sovereignty, and why this will be a high-priority issue in the CUSMA renegotiation.

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