Author: Techub News Compilation

Introduction

On September 24, 2025, Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Evan Solomon attended the third "ALL IN" Artificial Intelligence Summit held in Montreal and delivered a keynote speech. This summit, hosted by Canada's renowned AI company Scale AI, gathered founders, researchers, investors, and students from the global AI field. In a speech lasting over 50 minutes and the subsequent expert discussion, Solomon systematically elaborated on Canada's national strategy at a critical juncture of the AI revolution—building "digital sovereignty," and outlined the government's specific action plans regarding capital, computing power, talent, and regulations. He then engaged in an in-depth dialogue with NVIDIA's Vice President of Generative AI Software Carrie Briskey, Cohere co-founder and CEO Aiden Gomez, and host Amber Mac, further exploring the practical paths of sovereign AI, the establishment of public trust, and Canada's unique role in the global AI competition. This statement is seen as an important update and mobilization of the Canadian government's national AI strategy.

Summary

• Canada defines "digital sovereignty" as a core national policy aimed at establishing autonomous computing infrastructure, data governance rules, and AI innovation capabilities, ensuring that critical data is governed by Canadian law.
• The government plans to launch a series of specific measures in the coming months, focusing on three pillars: trust and security, capital/customers/computing power, and talent and cutting-edge technology, including updating the existing 25-year-old privacy data law, creating market demand through government procurement, and initiating major quantum initiatives.
• Sovereignty does not mean isolation; Canada will continue to deepen cooperation with allies such as the United States, the European Union, and the UAE, as well as global tech companies, but emphasizes the necessity of "having the tools and rules needed for this critical moment."
• In the face of public anxiety towards AI, the government believes the key to building trust lies in positioning AI as a "service tool," ensuring legislation, showcasing real use cases, and communicating transparently so that technology serves to improve people's livelihoods and the economy.
• Leaders in Canada's AI industry are calling for domestic companies to raise their ambitions and risk tolerance, develop substantial AI strategies that go beyond mere tool applications, and actively adopt local AI solutions.

Building Digital Sovereignty: Canada's National Mission in AI

Evan Solomon opened his speech by highlighting that we are currently at a "critical moment where technological revolution and the reshaping of political landscapes intersect." He believes that AI is not only a new technology but also signifies the "birth of the entrepreneur era," where individuals possess the most powerful tools in history to turn ideas into businesses and employment. However, he emphasized that Canada's core mission is to build "digital sovereignty"—which he describes as "the most pressing policy and democratic issue of our time."

The term "digital sovereignty," as explained by Solomon, encompasses several dimensions: first, Canada needs a meaningful and autonomous sovereign digital backbone that includes talent, energy, and computing power to construct the future economy. The core of this digital economy is "freedom from coercion," meaning it cannot be arbitrarily shut down by others. Only by having its own digital assets can Canada collaborate and trade with global partners on equal terms while maintaining sovereignty during cooperation. Secondly, data is central. Those who control, use, and manage data determine collective prosperity, security, and even values. Therefore, Canada must establish a digital backbone that reflects, protects, and projects its core values, ensuring that critical and sensitive data falls under Canadian jurisdiction. Finally, digital sovereignty means supporting Canada's builders, innovators, and entrepreneurs, allowing their ideas to grow into prosperous Canadian companies, keeping headquarters, jobs, and intellectual property domestically, making Canada an "AI headquarters" rather than a "branch office."

He particularly noted that sovereignty does not mean solitude ("Sovereignty does not mean solitude"). Canada will continue to work with international friends and allies, especially the United States, the UAE, the EU, and global large tech companies (hyperscale cloud providers), who are also a vital part of the ecosystem. But the key is that Canada must "have the tools and rules needed for this critical moment" and build its own "digital insurance policy."

Solomon reflected on Canada's traditional advantages in the AI field: modern AI was formed here, with pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, Rich Sutton, and Yoshua Bengio; in 2017, Canada launched the world's first national AI strategy; and established world-leading research institutes such as Mila, Vector, and Amii. However, he warned that leadership is not inherent; it must be continuously fought for, and competition is currently exceptionally fierce.

Trust, Capital, Computing Power, and Talent: Four Key Action Pillars

Based on the goal of digital sovereignty, Solomon outlined several key action areas the government will soon embark on.

First, trust and security. Solomon bluntly stated that technology advances at an innovative pace, but adoption speed depends on trust. To establish trust, the government will work to update Canada's privacy and data laws that have been in place for over 25 years. The new laws will include protective measures addressing consumer concerns (such as deepfakes), especially strengthening protections for children, and setting clear standards for data usage so that innovators can have defined rules, thus unlocking investment. Additionally, the government will tackle new threats through other legal tools like the Criminal Code. He emphasized that the goal of legislation is to make Canadians feel secure so that they see AI as an opportunity to improve services rather than a threat. When people trust AI, they will widely use it in agriculture, healthcare, education, government services, and more.

Second, capital, customers, and computing power. Through discussions with founders and entrepreneurs across the country over the past four months, Solomon summarized three common needs. The first is capital. The government will introduce new tools to help Canadian innovators scale domestically, secure more funding in seed rounds and early stages, attract patient capital, and keep headquarters in Canada. The second is customers. The government will play a role model by becoming a strong validator and customer of AI solutions via government procurement, creating a market for AI products made in Canada. He cited the example of having signed a memorandum of understanding with Cohere to procure its strategically significant large language model and mentioned that the defense industrial strategy will also unlock dual-use opportunities for AI technologies. The third is computing power. Sovereign computing/sovereign cloud is a core task, meaning that critical sensitive data will remain under Canadian law and stored within data centers under Canadian control.

Third, talent and the next generation. Solomon believes that Canada's competitive advantage lies in "people." Therefore, the country needs to continuously attract the world's top talent and retain its most outstanding individuals. He announced that in October this year, Canada will launch a major quantum technology initiative to ensure that talent, wisdom, and intellectual property in the quantum field remain in Canada. He made it clear that the goal is not to become "the farm team of another economy," nurturing companies only to be acquired and relocated.

Fourth, strategic updates and accelerated execution. Solomon announced that in late September 2025, a Canadian AI Strategy Working Group will be initiated, gathering innovative thinkers from across the country to conduct a "sprint" over 30 days around eight priorities, including research, application, commercialization, security, education, and infrastructure, to propose bold and practical ideas. The working group will submit a report in November. Later this year, Canada will submit an updated national AI strategy nearly two years ahead of schedule, achieving the transition "from principles to projects, from ideas to impacts." He emphasized that "we cannot afford to wait"; Canada must maintain its competitiveness, credibility, and innovation.

Expert Dialogue: Sovereign AI Practices, Trust, and Opportunities

In the subsequent expert discussion, NVIDIA's Carrie Briskey, Cohere's Aiden Gomez, and Minister Solomon engaged in an in-depth discussion about the specific practices and challenges of sovereign AI.

The necessity and model of sovereign AI: Carrie Briskey elaborated on the value of sovereign AI from a technical collaboration perspective. She pointed out that all countries should develop their AI rather than outsourcing it to external suppliers, as AI needs to align with local values, cultural backgrounds, policy norms, and nuanced natural language patterns. She cited examples of countries such as Sweden, India, Japan, Poland, Italy, and France building local large models and emphasized that local models will attract developers, thereby requiring local infrastructure to build applications, forming a positive feedback loop of data feedback and model optimization, gradually establishing trust.

Aiden Gomez shared Cohere's practices from the perspective of company and government collaboration. He emphasized that the goal of working with the Canadian government is to enhance the quality and efficiency of public services while ensuring data sovereignty and security. The fully privatized deployment solution provided by Cohere can even achieve physical isolation ("air gap"), offering the highest level of protection for data and IP while avoiding the risk of data leaking to external companies.

Paths to building public trust: In response to host Amber Mac's question about "more than half of Canadians feeling anxious about AI," Solomon reiterated that legislative updates are the key first step to send a clear signal to the public and businesses. He borrowed the motto from Venice's Aldine press "Festina Lente" (make haste slowly), pointing out that it is essential to "act quickly to keep up, but to progress steadily." He believes AI should first be discussed as a "service"—how it can improve sectors closely related to people's lives, such as healthcare and agriculture, and praised those entrepreneurs creating unprecedented new jobs. Technological change always comes with anxiety, and trust will be established as the number of use cases increases and security is ensured.

The art of balanced regulation: Regarding the global challenge of AI regulation, Solomon analyzed three different models: the U.S. and China tend to believe that any regulation will limit safety and innovation; the EU has taken the lead in attempting comprehensive regulation but acknowledges it has caused some limitations on innovation. Canada's path will focus on key areas: protecting Canadian sensitive data security (through sovereign infrastructure), updating privacy and data laws, and focusing on child and consumer protection (such as deepfakes). He admitted that there is no "perfect regulation" and that legislation needs to evolve iteratively like technology, avoiding "making perfect the enemy of good." The core is to maintain Canada's competitive advantage as a rule-of-law country with advanced education, abundant talent, and a trustworthy trade partner, ensuring that regulation does not stifle these advantages.

Advice to Canadian business leaders: At the end of the discussion, the guests provided advice on how Canadian businesses can embrace AI. Solomon proposed three points: buy Canadian (solutions); collaborate with international partners (such as NVIDIA) within their security framework; and develop a clear AI adoption plan focused on service delivery and customer transformation, rather than technology for technology's sake. He encouraged businesses with words from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang to avoid perfectionism and be bold enough to "release, observe, test, and then grow."

Aiden Gomez echoed Solomon's views on "ambition and risk tolerance," sharply pointing out that if a company's AI strategy is merely "buying Microsoft Copilot or having employees use ChatGPT," it amounts to having no strategy; it is just the lowest level in value creation. Companies need to develop strategies with specific goals and real paths to return on investment.

Carrie Briskey used her personal experience as an example to encourage immediate action. She mentioned that AI is closing the technology gap; her 12-year-old daughter is already able to create applications through natural language interaction. She suggested that individuals, families, or businesses can start trying various AI applications today, establishing trust through transparency and practical use.

In closing, Aiden Gomez emphasized that "this is Canada's moment", and that AI technology being invested in research must be put into production, which requires ambition, risk-taking, and leadership. Evan Solomon ultimately returned to his core message: do not pit technology against people; AI serves as both a tool for entrepreneurs and a tool for improving services. When people see this, more individuals will flock to this field, collectively driving national economic growth and benefiting everyone.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。