Canada Seeks Leadership Role for Middle Powers in the Global AI Sovereignty Race

Canadas bid for AI sovereignty

OTTAWA Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled Canadas new AI strategy on Thursday, positioning the country to lead a coalition of middle powers racing to build sovereign artificial intelligence capabilities. The Liberal governments AI for All framework elevates AI to the status of critical infrastructure alongside energy and defense and signals a concerted effort to reduce reliance on U.S. tech giants.

Carney framed the strategy as a practical response to a geopolitical AI landscape dominated by the United States and China. As this technological revolution gathers pace, Canada has many of the attributes to help lead it, he said in Toronto, citing the countrys energy resources and existing expertise in AI, robotics and quantum technologies. Yet Ottawa makes clear it cannot achieve meaningful autonomy alone: the plan explicitly seeks partnerships with like-minded countries and blocs.

The government identifies a network of allies including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Finland, Norway and the European Union and looks to deepen ties with Indo-Pacific partners such as Japan, Australia and India, as well as the United Arab Emirates. By coordinating with these countries, Ottawa hopes to create an alternative ecosystem for AI development and deployment that is less dependent on dominant U.S. platforms.

Strategy, trust and commercialization

A core objective of the strategy is to broaden public trust in AI. The government acknowledges that Canada ranks poorly on measures of AI training, literacy and public confidence, and it links widespread adoption to increased trust. Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon has repeatedly emphasized the point: Technology moves at the speed of innovation, but adoption moves at the speed of trust. To that end, Ottawa plans to modernize federal privacy laws, introduce stronger protections for children online, and step up efforts to counter AI-driven harms such as deepfakes.

Carney a practicing Catholic who recently discussed AI ethics with Pope Leo XIV has adopted language that echoes the Vaticans emerging ethical stance, stressing human dignity and the obligation that technology serve the common good. He invoked the popes encyclical on AI in his speech, repeating its warning that the pace and scale of AI developments represent a uniquely powerful force that must be managed responsibly.

On the economic side, the strategy seeks to convert Canadas research strengths into commercial success. While Canada remains a world leader in AI research and talent, many top researchers have been recruited by U.S. tech companies and domestic startups have struggled to scale into global champions. The new plan shifts focus from research-centric policy to commercialization and adoption, aiming to give small and medium-sized enterprises the tools to use AI competitively on the international stage.

The government will concentrate investments in five priority sectors: health and life sciences; energy and natural resources; transportation; agriculture; and manufacturing and robotics. Initiatives include bringing AI into classrooms, supporting business adoption, and funding Canadian firms to compete abroad.

Infrastructure and data sovereignty are also central themes. The strategy calls for more Canadian-owned data centers, expanded cloud infrastructure and increased semiconductor capacity to reduce foreign dependency. Ottawa previously committed to building a national supercomputer by 2031, and Carney has been explicit that Canadian data should remain within Canadian borders and under Canadian law.

Carneys strategy replaces the 2017 policy introduced under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which prioritized research but did less to facilitate commercialization. Nearly a decade later, the government says, Canada must do more to turn intellectual strength into market-leading companies and homegrown AI platforms.

The path ahead

The AI for All framework is both ambitious and pragmatic: it acknowledges Canadas strengths research talent, stable institutions and energy resources while confronting gaps in commercialization, infrastructure and public trust. By treating AI as critical infrastructure and seeking alliances with other middle powers, Ottawa aims to create alternatives to U.S.-centric platforms and to export Canadian approaches to ethical, human-centered AI.

The strategys success will hinge on execution: creating the physical infrastructure, legal protections and market incentives needed to retain talent and scale domestic companies; building international partnerships that deliver interoperable standards and secure supply chains; and, crucially, restoring public confidence in AI so the technology can be adopted broadly and equitably across Canadian society.

The question is not whether AI will transform our lives. It will, Carney said. The question is whether it will improve the lives of all Canadians or benefit only a few. The governments new strategy sets a course for ensuring the former, but the coming years will test whether policy ambition can translate into sovereign capability and commercial success.