--- marp: true paginate: true --- # Sovereign Cloud for Canada ## A path to digital self-determination for a mid-power nation --- ## Sovereign Cloud for Canada - A path to digital self-determination - A policy brief for business leaders and government --- ## The Strategic Stakes - Data is now critical infrastructure — as vital as energy or transport - Where data lives, and who can compel access to it, shapes national resilience - Cloud dependence has quietly become a matter of sovereignty - The decisions we defer today constrain the options we hold tomorrow --- ## What 'Sovereign Cloud' Actually Means - Not simply 'servers in Canada' — location is necessary but insufficient - Data residency: where data is stored - Data jurisdiction: which laws can compel access - Operational autonomy: who runs, controls, and can withdraw the service --- ## Where Canada Stands Today - The vast majority of cloud spend flows to non-domestic hyperscalers - Strong connectivity and clean energy — genuine natural advantages - Fragmented federal, provincial, and sector-specific data rules - Real capability exists, but scale and coordination are lacking --- ## The Risks of Inaction - Extraterritorial law can reach Canadian data held by foreign providers - Concentration risk: outages or policy shifts abroad ripple through our systems - Economic leakage: value and IP accrue elsewhere - Erosion of leverage in future geopolitical and trade disputes --- ## Lessons From Abroad - EU: GAIA-X and data-space frameworks — ambition tempered by execution challenges - France: SecNumCloud certification and 'trusted cloud' partnerships - Australia: sovereign hosting certification for government workloads - Common thread: sovereignty as a spectrum, delivered through standards, not walls --- ## Guiding Principles - Sovereignty is a spectrum — match the tier to the sensitivity of the workload - Openness over isolation: interoperability and exit rights, not walled gardens - Build on strengths: energy, talent, and trusted institutions - Pragmatism over purity — deliverable steps beat perfect blueprints --- ## Pillar 1 — Domestic Infrastructure - Anchor sovereign zones with Canadian clean-energy and cool climate advantages - Support domestic and trusted-partner data-centre capacity at scale - Prioritize critical workloads: health, finance, defence, public records - Design for resilience and geographic distribution across regions --- ## Pillar 2 — Legal & Jurisdictional Control - Modernize and harmonize privacy and data-protection law across jurisdictions - Establish clear rules on lawful access and foreign compulsion - Define certification tiers for 'sovereign-grade' services - Contractual guarantees: control, transparency, and the right to exit --- ## Pillar 3 — Talent & Ecosystem - Cloud sovereignty needs operators, engineers, and security specialists at home - Grow domestic cloud, cybersecurity, and platform-engineering firms - Partner with universities and industry on skills pipelines - A vibrant ecosystem prevents lock-in and sustains real autonomy --- ## Pillar 4 — Procurement as Lever - Government is the largest, most influential cloud buyer in the country - Use procurement to set sovereignty standards and seed demand - Reserve sensitive workloads for certified sovereign tiers - Aggregate public-sector demand to make domestic capacity viable --- ## A Pragmatic Model — Hybrid Sovereignty - Tier workloads by sensitivity: public, protected, and sovereign-critical - Global hyperscalers for commodity workloads; sovereign tiers for the rest - Trusted-partner arrangements bridge scale and control - Avoids both reckless dependence and unaffordable full autarky --- ## Roadmap — Three Horizons - Now (0–12 mo): define certification tiers; classify critical workloads - Next (1–3 yr): stand up sovereign zones; harmonize legal frameworks - Later (3–5 yr): mature ecosystem, exit-ready contracts, sustained capacity - Sequenced to de-risk investment and prove value early --- ## Governance & Accountability - Name a clear owner for national cloud-sovereignty strategy - Transparent metrics: workload coverage, certification uptake, exit readiness - Regular public reporting to Parliament and industry - Independent oversight to keep standards honest and current --- ## The Call to Action - Sovereignty is about preserving choice — for our economy and our institutions - Start now with certification tiers and workload classification - Use procurement to seed demand; build talent and infrastructure in parallel - The window is open — deliberate action today protects tomorrow's options

Revisions — Sovereign Cloud for Canada