Canada's AI moment: The criticality of sovereignty for a thriving digital future

By Matthew Leppanen, Director of Marketing, Enablement and Partnerships 

We’re all talking about AI. It’s in our newsfeeds, our boardrooms and our strategic plans. But in the rush to adopt this transformative technology, are we asking the most important question of all? 

Who’s in the driver’s seat? 

This isn’t just a philosophical debate. As Canadian businesses and governments integrate AI into the very fabric of our economy and society, the question of control of sovereignty becomes a critical issue we face. This is our AI moment; the choices we make right now will define our nation's autonomy for generations to come. 

It’s not just hype; it’s a strategic shift 

If you think AI is still a niche concern for tech workers and researchers, think again. Bell’s new study of enterprise AI planning and adoption, conducted with The Harris Poll, surveyed leaders at Canada’s largest companies. The results are crystal clear: the AI revolution is already here. In fact, it began some time ago. 

• • • AI is now a core strategy: 75% of Canadian business leaders see AI not as an experiment, but as a central, enterprise-wide strategic priority. 
    • Data sovereignty is paramount: Ensuring data traffic and storage stays within Canada at all times isn't a "nice-to-have."  88% of leaders polled call data sovereignty "very or extremely important." Why? Because 92% are deeply concerned about the risk of foreign governments accessing their sensitive data. 

This is important. The people running Canada's biggest enterprises are not just adopting AI; they are demanding that it be secure, protected and exclusively under Canadian control. This isn't just a business preference; it's a foundational requirement for building a trusted digital future. 

Sovereignty: more than just a postal code for your data 

So, what do we really mean by "AI sovereignty"? It’s so much more than just ensuring your data is stored on a server in Toronto instead of Texas. 

Think of it like this: it’s not just about where you park your car. It’s about owning the car, holding the keys, controlling the garage it’s in and having a say in the roads it drives on. 

True AI sovereignty means having authority over the entire ecosystem: 

• • • The infrastructure: The physical data centres and networks that power AI. 
    • The compute: The processing power to train complex models and the inferencing needed to run them. 
    • The data & models: The information and algorithms that generate insights. 
    • The governance: The rules and legal frameworks that ensure AI is used ethically and for our national benefit. 

Without this end-to-end control, we risk becoming little more than “digital tenants,” reduced to trusting our innovation capability to absentee landlords who run foreign platforms – all while being vulnerable to their laws and exposed to their geopolitical interests.  

 
The time to act is now 

Unlike past tech revolutions where global giants established unbreakable dominance, the AI landscape is still taking shape. We are not yet locked into platforms and systems that cannot be unwound. This presents Canada with a historic, but fleeting, opportunity. 

Canada has the talent and a world-renowned AI research community. What we need now is the national infrastructure that keeps our talent, our ideas, and our economic future right here at home. This is our chance to build a Canadian-owned and operated full-stack AI ecosystem that strengthens our economy and secures our place on the world stage. 

Building Canada’s sovereign AI engine 

This is exactly why Bell has created Bell AI Fabric - a fully sovereign ecosystem designed to be the engine of Canada's AI future. 

A full-stack solution built in Canada, for Canada, AI Fabric combines Canada’s largest sovereign, purpose-built AI data centres with our own nationwide fibre network. Through partnerships with other Canadian tech leaders like Cohere, we're providing the advanced software, security protocols and large language models businesses need to innovate and lead. 

From the physical infrastructure to the AI models themselves, Bell AI Fabric ensures your data and operations remain under Canadian jurisdiction – free from foreign government oversight. It’s the platform Canada needs to turn our immense potential into tangible, world-class business outcomes. 

To become a true sovereign AI leader, we must unite industry, academia and government in this nation-building project. We must invest in our infrastructure, nurture our talent and create an environment where our brightest minds can build their future, and our country’s future – right here. 

Bell is ready. We have the infrastructure, the partnerships and the unwavering commitment to support Canadian governments and businesses. 

The question was never if AI would change our world. The question is who will control the tools that shape it. Let’s work together to ensure the answer is, unequivocally, Canada.