Canada is solidifying its position as a global leader in artificial intelligence with a major push toward digital sovereignty and homegrown innovation. At the All In Canada AI Ecosystem event in Montreal, NVIDIA Vice President of Generative AI Software Kari Briski joined Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon and Aiden Gomez, CEO of Cohere, in a high-profile panel discussion moderated by SiriusXM host Amber Mac. Solomon declared that the AI revolution is not just a technological shift but the dawn of a new entrepreneurial era. “You’re all here to deliver the next big thing,” he told the audience of entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and students. “This is the birth of the age of the entrepreneur.” The event highlighted Canada’s strategic commitment to building sovereign AI — ensuring that the nation controls its own AI infrastructure, data, and decision-making frameworks. “For our government, for our country, ‘All In’ means building digital sovereignty — the most pressing policy and democratic issue of our time,” Solomon said. Briski emphasized that AI must reflect local values, cultural context, and national policies. “Every nation should develop its own AI — not just outsource it,” she said. “AI needs to speak and write in the nuanced patterns of your natural language. Digital intelligence isn’t something you can simply outsource.” A major milestone was announced by TELUS, Canada’s leading communications technology company and an NVIDIA Cloud Partner: the launch of Canada’s first fully sovereign AI factory in Rimouski, Quebec. Powered by the latest NVIDIA accelerated computing and built in collaboration with HPE, the facility provides end-to-end AI capabilities — from model training to inferencing — while ensuring all data remains within Canadian borders. The AI factory is already serving clients like OpenText, runs on 99% renewable energy, and is connected via TELUS’ PureFibre network. Accenture will use the platform to develop and deploy industry-specific AI solutions for its Canadian clients, while League, Canada’s top healthcare consumer experience provider, will run its AI-powered healthcare services on the sovereign infrastructure. RBC Capital Markets is also advancing its AI ambitions by building enterprise-grade AI agents for capital markets using NVIDIA software. Leveraging NVIDIA NeMo for agent lifecycle management and NVIDIA NIM microservices for deployment, these systems are enabling faster, more accurate insights for global financial institutions. The event reflects a broader global trend, as nations invest heavily in AI infrastructure and policy. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has recently engaged with leaders in France, Germany, India, Japan, and the U.K., promoting national AI strategies and public-private partnerships. During a visit to Canada last year, Huang praised the country as the “epicenter of innovation in modern AI,” citing the foundational work of pioneers like Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio — both of whom are active in Canada’s AI ecosystem. Solomon concluded with a call to action: “Leadership is not a birthright. It has to be earned again and again — and the competition is fierce.” RBC Capital Markets, TELUS, and NVIDIA will further explore best practices in agentic AI development during a dedicated session on Wednesday from 4:15 to 5 p.m. ET.