An OVHCloud data centre in Quebec in June, 2022. Digital sovereignty has become a hot topic amid the trade war with the U.S.Xavier POPY/Supplied
Achieving complete digital sovereignty is “impossible” for the government of Canada, according to a new report from the federal Treasury Board.
Crucial digital services such as cloud computing are provided by a small number of global tech giants, the report released Friday stated, and even Canadian companies that offer similar services may rely on software, components and infrastructure sourced through global supply chains.
As a result, it is not achievable for Ottawa to “obtain a state of complete digital sovereignty, known as digital autonomy, due to the absolute interconnected nature of the digital world,” the report said.
Digital sovereignty has become a hot topic amid the trade war with the United States and an increasing awareness of how reliant the public and private sectors are on American tech giants for cloud computing, data storage and artificial-intelligence services. Prime Minister Mark Carney has directed the Major Projects Office to build a sovereign cloud for Canada, though many details are lacking.
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Broadly, the concept of sovereignty refers to control over data, digital services and the infrastructure behind it all. Protecting sensitive data is important for privacy and national-security reasons, while building domestic capacity to provide these services can have economic benefits.
Experts have said that digital sovereignty is a matter of degree, and not an all-or-nothing proposition. While full autonomy may not be possible, the report notes that Ottawa uses a range of legal, policy and technical measures to ensure some control over its data and digital services, regardless of the location of suppliers.
Some experts argue there is risk associated with U.S. tech giants since American legislation requires companies to comply with legitimate law-enforcement requests for data as part of investigations, even if that information is stored abroad.
The Treasury Board said that Ottawa cannot maintain full legal control of its data if it relies on digital services provided by companies that are subject to foreign laws. The only way to obtain full control is if “it delivers services itself or works with providers that operate entirely under Canadian jurisdiction,” according to the paper.
Lawyers have warned that even Canadian companies offering services abroad can be subject to foreign laws.
While concerns about law-enforcement requests for data may be heightened, the Treasury Board said it could find no documented cases of foreign governments seeking access to Canadian data held by service providers.
Another challenge to digital sovereignty is access to talent, according to the report. Demand for people skilled in cloud computing, cybersecurity and AI is high, making it difficult for Ottawa to attract these workers and resulting in an increasing reliance on external providers.
Some Canadian cloud companies, such as ThinkOn Inc., have pitched sovereignty as part of their offerings for years. More companies are touting sovereignty this year, however. Telecom companies BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. have both launched sovereign AI data centres.
“There is a consensus among Canadians that we need to invest in an economy that is not as dependent on others as it has been in the past,” BCE chief executive officer Mirko Bibic said in a speech at Canadian Club Toronto last week. “With that comes an imperative to ensure that our success as a country is not contingent on the goodwill of others, to protect our digital sovereignty, to ensure that no one can turn Canada off.”
Even foreign companies such as Google and OpenAI are pitching sovereign services to Canada. In Google’s case, that means providing technical measures such as encryption to give customers control over their data, and ensuring data stay within Canadian borders.
The Treasury Board noted that Ottawa will do more work to understand “where more sovereignty is most crucial.”
Federal AI Minister Evan Solomon said recently that the government is working on better defining sovereignty, and remains open to working with U.S. tech companies. “There’s lots of hybrid models that may qualify as sovereign as we’re working on the definition,” he said.