Senators, experts push for public ownership of digital industries, AI data centres

“Canadian public digital infrastructure.” Four words that, until recently, had never been strung together in either chamber of Parliament—but, according to Sen. Andrew Cardozo, the phrase should shape the federal government’s public policy moving forwards. Last month, Cardozo, a former CRTC commissioner, rose in the Upper Chamber to suggest that Canada work to assume complete authority of the digital infrastructure connecting people throughout the country, ranging from email to money payment systems to artificial intelligence networks. “Given the potential dangers and tremendous geopolitical uncertainty at this critical juncture of this technology, we need to be in control, masters in our own home,” said Cardozo on Sept. 28. “This is an urgent objective.” But what exactly does that mean? For Cardozo, the possibilities are nearly limitless. It could mean reworking our information pathways to ensure emails sent within Canada stay within our borders (as opposed to flowing through the U.S.), he said, or it may mean strengthening Canada’s sovereign cloud capacity to ensure Canadians’ data is kept in-house. The Ontario senator even floated the idea of publicly constructed and operated AI data centres. The ultimate goal, however, is to protect Canada’s most sensitive infrastructure from foreign political and industry interests. In particular, Cardozo namechecked U.S. President Donald Trump and the chorus of “tech bros” that featured heavily in his most recent inauguration ceremony. “What we need is to have more of an infrastructure that is based in Canada and that is controlled by Canadians and not subject to the laws of any other country,” he told The Wire Report in an interview. It’s not difficult to find examples of Canada’s digital economy relying on U.S. businesses subjected to U.S. laws, like the CLOUD Act, which gives American law enforcement agencies access to data stored by U.S. tech companies, regardless of where the data is physically located or to whom it belongs. An overwhelming majority of Canadian workplaces rely on services provided by Microsoft Corp. or Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Meanwhile, anytime Canadians buy a coffee, they’re often using U.S. online payment networks through Visa or Mastercard. The trend even extends to the federal government, which has implemented and touted its ‘buy Canadian’ procurement policy, but still doles out digital contracts to U.S. providers. “We could get into a situation where… the president might be angry over the negotiations we’re having on trade,” said Cardozo. “And, if he wanted to put the squeeze on us, he could do that to our digital infrastructure by calling any one of his friends and asking them to shut us down… until we sign.” “I don’t even think it’s about having some control. We need to have 100 per cent control of our digital infrastructure.” Senator Andrew Cardozo attends the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade on March 22, 2023 (photo by Andrew Meade/Hill Times Publishing). It’s not lost on the senator that his proposal would constitute a massive overhaul of Canada’s digital makeup, but he suggested a central public agency heading the reforms would help usher in a new economy that is both more secure and less susceptible to geopolitical shifts. “I’m all for the innovation that takes place by the private sector…, but it has to go with financial return to shareholders before it looks at the nationalism of it,” he said. “If we build major private sector companies in the digital sphere here, they can enter into partnerships that get overextended so they lose control, they can sell, or they can get bought out in a hostile takeover.” That’s why Cardozo has outlined three public entities that could theoretically take up the mantle, including Canada Post, the National Research Council, or a yet-to-be created Crown corporation. But he already has a preference. “Carney does like creating new agencies for very specific purposes,” he said, referencing the Defence Investment Agency, Build Canada Homes, Major Projects Office, and other new institutions. “But the advantage of Canada Post is you’ve got a certain infrastructure there.” Could Canada Post deliver? Among the senator’s proposed agencies, most experts have also honed in on the possibility for Canada Post to reinvent itself as a shepherd for the country’s digital sovereignty. In recent years, the postal service has been mired in a slate of negative headlines detailing billion-dollar-plus deficits and government bailouts, though some believe the Crown corporation could undergo “institutional renewal.” Vass Bednar, managing director of the Canadian Shield Institute, a non-partisan think tank, said it’s currently “in vogue” to criticize Canada Post, but there’s a legitimate pathway for it to become a “public governance vehicle for AI and data.” Earlier this year, the federal government launched a selection process to appoint a new CEO for Canada Post, as current president Doug Ettinger’s term is set to expire on March 3, 2027. The application window closed last week, and Bednar called the posting “the most tech policy relevant and challenging job out there.” Vass Bednar, managing director of the Canadian Shield Institute. Photograph courtesy of LinkedIn “It’s a once in a lifetime, generational opportunity to transform,” she told The Wire Report, before confirming that she did not apply. It should be noted that Canada Post’s continual focus on physical mail delivery sets it apart from carriers in other jurisdictions. Australia Post has offered a digital mailbox that allows for online bill management and document storage since 2014, while Norway’s state-owned digital mailbox Digipost was launched in 2011 and serves approximately 2.7 million people — representing nearly half of the country’s population. Similar services are also provided by Sweden and Germany, the latter of which also operates De-Mail, a secure network for electronic correspondence. Elsewhere, postal services in Brazil and Italy operate as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), allowing residents to purchase cellular plans through the carrier. Italy also offers a pre-paid mobile card called PostePay and has taken strides to enter the AI data centre industry. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, one could access internet and television packages through the state-owned Swiss Post. In comparison, Canada Post’s few forays into the digital world have ultimately been shelved. Epost, an online billing and document service launched in 1999, was eliminated in 2022 with little explanation, while a pilot partnership with TD Bank called the MyMoney program, which would offer Canadians in remote communities access to loans, was retired shortly after it was announced. “We’re rarely the first mover, and I can come to grips with that,” said Bednar. “But there’s lots to learn, and Lightbound (Louis-Hébert, Que.) seems like a modern minister.” “I think once we see that it's being done elsewhere, that's a huge source of inspiration. Now, it's just like a public policy Pinterest board.” Minister of Government Transformation Public Works and Procurement Joël Lightbound holds a press conference in the National Press Theatre (in SJAM) on Sept. 25, 2025, to provide an update on changes to Canada Post’s services. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Like Cardozo, Bednar believes a new-and-improved Canada Post could manage email, business-to-business banking lending, digital verification, and potentially AI governance. “It’s like if Canada Post was building data centres for Canadian businesses and researchers, or I could even imagine oversight of an AI supercomputer,” said Bednar. “Is that the craziest thing you’ve heard? It’s not that crazy. We also have to remember that setting up a postal service was a bonkers undertaking.” “I think that’s a way we start to reclaim the public interest with these digital systems that tend to be privately provided in a way that we don’t really question.” Next week, Canada Post will hold its annual public meeting where it will provide an update on the carrier's “priorities… steps being taken to modernize the business,” according to a release. When asked about the potential economic or political challenges associated with such a large project, Bednar posited that “Canadians are ready for it.” “I think Canadians are surprised we don’t have infrastructure like this,” she said. “That’s more devastating and disappointing there’s a whole lot of pain from these digital dependencies.” Bednar suggested various levels of governments are currently paying hundreds of millions, if not billions, to access Microsoft’s suite of products or other U.S.-based offerings for local, provincial, and federal public servants. “Why not work with Canada Post to build an open source product or something just for the government?” she asked. “It might not be amazing, but it would work, get the job done, preserve our privacy, and then we don’t have to pay that to Microsoft.” From your lips to Carney’s ears While Cardozo was the first parliamentarian to raise the prospect of public ownership of digital industries, the idea is not entirely novel. Longtime journalist turned The Hill Times columnist David Crane wrote a pair of articles on the subject earlier this year, and he’s convinced the concept is worth further examination. “I want to have a group of people who are much more knowledgeable than I am take a very hard look at exactly how we could best use the assets we have in Canada Post and its role in connecting Canadians to play a key role in digital sovereignty,” said Crane in an interview. “It wouldn’t have to just be from government or the private sector or universities. We could put together a small group that could conduct an intensive look at this possibility…, but we could also have a House of Commons or Senate committee review the issue.” Cardozo echoed the sentiment and said he’s already had several senatorial colleagues express interest in helping to push the idea forward, including Nova Scotia Sen. Colin Deacon. That enthusiastic reception, however, has yet to translate to a public endorsement from the federal government. Lightbound’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Wire Report, while Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon’s (Toronto Centre, Ont.) office said in a statement that “Canada needs critical digital infrastructure that operates under Canadian control and Canadian law.” “Our government is strengthening the domestic computing capacity that underpins sovereign cloud services, so Canadian researchers and businesses have more secure, reliable options here at home,” read the statement, which also touted recent investments in the domestic tech sector. Cardozo said he’s yet to have conversations with the Prime Minister’s Office, so he doesn’t yet “have a sense” for where they stand on the idea, though Bednar said she believes there’s some “awareness” from government officials. “Based on one conversation I had, it seems there’s awareness and appreciation, definitely, for what is going on with postal systems elsewhere,” she said. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Senators, experts push for public ownership of digital industries, AI data centres

Regulatory |
By Davis Legree
|October 15, 2026

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