Canada and AI Sovereignty

Why It Matters

Achieving AI sovereignty is critical for Canada’s economic competitiveness, national security, and ability to shape AI governance on the global stage.

Key Takeaways

• Canada seeks sovereign AI infrastructure amid global tech concentration.
• Report outlines seven-layer AI stack and five sovereignty dimensions.
• Hardware and cloud dependencies identified as critical choke points.
• Policy options emphasize partnerships, open-source models, selective domestic investment.
• Strategic autonomy requires balancing security, economic, and societal considerations.

Summary

The event introduced the "Sovereignty by Design" report, a joint effort by Sean Mullet and Jackson Khan that maps Canada’s path toward AI sovereignty. Hosted by the Munk School, the briefing highlighted the urgency expressed by Prime Minister Justin Carney at Davos: strategic autonomy will depend on a sovereign AI stack encompassing secure clouds, data, models, and enterprise applications.

The authors dissected the AI technology stack into seven layers—from foundational data and hardware to cloud services, foundation models, orchestration, and applications—and paired this with five dimensions of digital sovereignty: jurisdictional, operational, technical, societal, and economic. Their heat‑map analysis pinpointed hardware (chips) and cloud infrastructure as the most vulnerable choke points, noting that advanced chips are concentrated in Taiwan, designed by ASML in the Netherlands, and dominated by Nvidia, while Canadian data centers, though numerous, lag behind hyperscalers.

Key excerpts underscored the geopolitical reality: Canada must collaborate with like‑minded nations such as India, Australia, and European partners, and consider open‑source AI models as a counterbalance to private‑sector lock‑in. The report refrains from prescriptive mandates, instead offering a menu of policy options—ranging from modest domestic chip design initiatives to strategic partnerships and investment in advanced cloud capabilities.

The implications are clear: without a coordinated strategy, Canada risks economic coercion and diminished national‑security posture. By aligning regulatory frameworks, fostering domestic talent, and leveraging international alliances, Canada can secure a resilient AI ecosystem that supports innovation while safeguarding sovereignty.

Original Description

The concept of AI sovereignty is being discussed in many countries, but what does it really mean? And, more, specifically, what does it mean for Canada. At this event, Munk School fellows Sean Mullin and Jaxson Khan will discuss their new report: Sovereign By Design: Strategic Options for Canadian AI Sovereignty.

They will be joined by Bruce Schneier, whose recent op ed Canada Needs Nationalized, Public AI appeared in the Globe and Mail, and Janice Stein, Founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.

About the speakers

Jaxson Khan is a technology strategist and policy leader who has spent over a decade driving innovation across the public, private, and non-profit sectors. He is CEO of Aperture AI, a strategic consultancy helping major corporations and governments navigate and capitalize on AI and emerging technologies, a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto, and a Board Director of the Human Feedback Foundation. Previously, Jaxson served as Senior Policy Advisor to Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, where he helped design the $2.4 billion AI Sovereign Compute Strategy.

Sean Mullin is an economist and policy leader with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of technology, economic strategy, and public policy. He is a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, focusing on AI policy and the economics of AI. Sean previously served as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and founded and led the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship, building it into Canada's leading innovation policy think tank. He holds an MBA from Oxford University, an MA in Economics from McGill, and an Honours BSc from the University of Toronto.

Janice Stein is renowned as one of Canada’s most respected national and international experts on world politics. She is the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management and the founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. She is an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Her research sits at the intersection of cognitive science, psychology, and international politics as she focuses on decision making and strategy. The author of eight books and more than a hundred articles, her most recent work is on the management of escalation and the psychological, institutional, and political factors that explain surprise. Her latest research focuses on the intersection of geopolitics and technology.

Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist, called a “security guru” by The Economist. He is the author of over 14 books—including his latest, A Hacker’s Mind—as well as hundreds of articles, essays, and academic papers. His influential newsletter “Crypto-Gram” and his blog “Schneier on Security” are read by over 250,000 people. Schneier is a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School; a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and AccessNow; and an Advisory Board Member of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and VerifiedVoting.org. He is the Chief of Security Architecture at Inrupt, Inc.