Sovereignty: The Definition of Inanity

December 1, 2025

No to Nokia

Nokia’s Ottawa expansion tests Canada’s definition of “sovereign AI” | BetaKit

Government calls $340-million project “gold standard” while critics say it’s a “toxic” foreign subsidy.

BetaKitAlex Riehl

The government cannot stop itself from taking the easy win and subsidizing foreign firms to create jobs in Canada. The latest is the $72M subsidy for Nokia to expand its operation in Ottawa. Called by the Minister of AI “the gold standard of what we want to see” it's been described in less glowing terms by the tech community:

Creating new tech jobs seems like a win for Ottawa and Canada. But not all subsidies are about sovereignty. Trying to include foreign subsidies in our definition of 'sovereign' dilutes the definition and makes it meaningless.

Keeping Score

The Canadian SHIELD Institute

Securing Homegrown Innovation, Economic Leadership, and Defence

The Canadian SHIELD InstituteThe Canadian SHIELD Institute

Canadian Avengers (or I should say Alpha Flight) Canadian SHIELD have created a Sovereignty Score. They rightly point out that sovereignty is less useful as a straight binary definition and better as a score made up of different components.

For example, the Nokia subsidy would get points for creating jobs but not for reducing reliance on foreign entities or retaining control of Canadian IP.

Two scorecards have been published so far: the $400M Algoma Steel loan (6/10 score) and the $240M investment in Cohere (2/10 score).

The scorecard concept deserves a deeper look.

Regulatory Innovation

Opinion: Should companies disclose to investors how they contribute to Canada?

Canadians might want to know not just how a company performs, but how it supports the country they call home

The Globe and MailGrant Vingoe

Regulatory innovation is not always an oxymoron. Grant Vingoe, the CEO of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) published a refreshingly practical idea in a recent Globe opinion piece: why not use existing financial disclosure data to calculate benefits to Canada?

This could be the basis of a “Canadian Prosperity Index” to measure where Canadian pension fund dollars are being allocated or to help define what “made in Canada” means.

This is a good idea for two reasons. First it highlights, like SHIELD has done, the need for some precision behind the patriotism. If government and private businesses want to follow through on their convictions, then we should measure it.

Second, it points to a role data and standards can play. We have poor quality business data in Canada and the idea of integrating and reusing existing data is attractive.

If you have news, insights or tips about using procurement to drive innovation in Canada, just reply to this email or add a comment below.