Canada Must Build Its Own AI or Rent It, Minister Says
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says Canada must build AI at home or it will have to "rent" the technology from its neighbours and follow their rules.
He tied control over AI systems and data — what Ottawa calls sovereignty — to growth at home and partnership with countries that share Canada's values. He said isolation is not the answer. He spoke at the All In AI conference in Montreal, in remarks reported Sept. 16. The Globe and Mail
The conference also brought a research agreement between countries. Canada's Mila research institute and Germany's German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence are formalising a partnership to strengthen AI ties. The work will focus on safe AI systems and how to use them in major industries such as energy.
Germany's digital minister Karsten Wildberger said common standards and oversight are needed to keep AI development safe and at the cutting edge.
Germany was selected as the Country of Honour for ALL IN 2026. The event takes place Sept. 16-17 in Montréal. ALL IN
Mila also partnered with Giesecke+Devrient to help shape the future of trusted AI. Mila
The broader context here is control over how AI is used. A government that does not build, test and run systems at home has less say over safety rules, how data is handled and terms of access. Like a tenant, it becomes a standards taker.
Looking at what this means for federal policy, the focus on working with allies points toward shared rules rather than Canada going alone. Joint standards and oversight with Germany suggest Ottawa sees AI safety and industrial use as issues to settle with partners, not by itself. Energy makes sense as a starting point, since governments already regulate and buy in that sector.
In my view, the federal-provincial question will decide how far this goes. Ottawa can set national direction and sign international agreements. But research labs, trained workers and electricity systems sit largely with the provinces and with bodies outside federal control. A Montreal setting keeps that balance in view.
For those working the file day to day, the talk of values-based partnership matters. It points to buying choices, safety checks and data rules that favour working smoothly with allies. The practical question is how Ottawa writes those preferences without adding duplicate paperwork for teams working in more than one place.
What to watch now is implementation. The announcements show intent and research alignment. Sovereignty, as Solomon defines it, will depend on build decisions at home and whether joint standards work makes it easier for Canadian firms to deploy safe systems at scale.
