Washington – In new comments filed with the Canadian government, the Computer & Communications Industry Association urged Ottawa to anchor its National AI Strategy in international standards to foster innovation and global collaboration—strengthening the already deep ties between Canada and the United States in both the R&D and commercial AI realms. The comments respond to Canada’s 30-day “AI sprint” public consultation, published October 1, which will help the country shape the next iteration of its National AI Strategy. CCIA cautioned that developing bespoke, “Canada-specific” compliance rules or data localization mandates would fragment the digital market, deter top talent, and isolate Canadian innovators from global ecosystems.
CCIA’s filing emphasizes that Canada’s AI research edge is best preserved by fostering interoperability and recommends aligning with established international frameworks like the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and ISO/IEC 42001. This approach would allow Canadian researchers to collaborate seamlessly with global peers and access international evaluation tools without facing duplicative, overly prescriptive rules. The comments also warned against policies that mandate data or compute localization, such as proposed “Sovereign Cloud” initiatives that could exclude best-in-class global providers. CCIA noted that top AI talent is mobile and “goes where researchers can publish, collaborate internationally, and ship products without navigating bespoke compliance regimes.” Restrictive, jurisdiction-specific rules risk chilling investment and making Canada a less attractive environment for deploying advanced AI models.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Vice President of Digital Trade, Jonathan McHale:
“Canada is at a crossroads. It can be a globally-integrated leader in AI, playing to its considerable strengths, or it can create an insular market that isolates its own researchers, developers, and deployers of AI systems. Canada’s aspirations will be best served by continuing its light-touch, risk-based approach that aligns with the international standards partners and allies are already using. While all governments have a legitimate interest in promoting domestic development, mandating ‘sovereign’ solutions or creating duplicative compliance rules will only fragment the market, harm cross-border collaboration, and ultimately disadvantage the Canadian innovators Ottawa wants to champion.”
