Bell CEO Says Canada’s AI Sovereignty a National Security Issue

BCE Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mirko Bibic said sensitive Canadian data must stay within the country, as geopolitical tensions rise.

So-called data sovereignty is a “non-negotiable” requirement in how Canada’s business leaders should approach artificial intelligence, Bibic said in prepared remarks Wednesday. Citing the need to protect intellectual property and health and financial information, the CEO said the private and public sectors have a duty “to ensure that no one can turn Canada off.”

Mirko Bibic

Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg

“We have time, but not much, to build the Canadian-owned and operated full-stack infrastructure” for AI, said Bibic, who leads Canada’s largest telecom company by ...