Canada has a narrow window to position itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence, and it needs to act now. That was the central message from a panel on AI adoption in the country’s telecom sector at Measuring the Digital Economy, an event hosted by Ivey Business School. Organized by Erik Bohlin, Ivey Chair in Telecommunication Economics, Regulation and Policy, and Romel Mostafa, Director of the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management, the discussion was moderated by Mostafa and brought together senior leaders from Cisco, Telus, and Bell. The panel explored how AI, data sovereignty, sustainability, and talent are reshaping Canada’s digital future.
Canada’s telecom giants are already deeply embedding AI into their network operations. Far from being hypothetical or experimental tools, AI systems today are monitoring infrastructure and improving reliability across national networks. As Trina Alexson, Head of Customer Success at Cisco, explained, “We are seeing [AI] in the products themselves, as well as in the support ecosystem.” She noted that Cisco is deploying AI to help make networks more resilient and autonomous: “Right now, where we’re seeing it most is around telemetry. Can networks become more self-healing? That’s going to benefit, by reducing operating costs.”
Telus has similarly accelerated AI adoption across its organization. Chris Madan, Vice-President of Customer Digital Solutions and Product, described how the company’s internal AI agent—named Iris—monitored network performance throughout the busiest retail weekend of the year. “Iris was doing our complete observability across every dimension, from code to scripts to network,” he said. By enabling faster diagnostics and more reliable operations, Madan argued, AI is strengthening Canada’s telecom backbone while also improving customer experience.
Bell is also using AI to reduce network risk by catching configuration errors before they cascade into outages. “We’re using AI today to analyze scripts and configurations,” explained Costa Pantazopoulos, Vice-President of Product. “Humans always had mock reviews, but the AI is a lot more efficient, hence the quality script.”
Data sovereignty as a strategic imperative
If there was a single theme that dominated the discussion, it was the rising importance of Canadian data sovereignty. With geopolitical tensions reshaping the global digital order, and with the U.S. CLOUD Act allowing American authorities to access data stored abroad by U.S.-based companies, Canadian enterprises and governments are realizing the importance of domestic control over data and operations.
Pantazopoulos emphasized that sovereignty is no longer abstract policy language but a market requirement: “Our customers are coming to us and saying, we have this need for sovereignty.” Because Canada cannot manufacture key technologies like graphics processing units (GPUs), he argued, its definition of sovereignty must focus on location, control, and governance: “Sovereignty comes in location… having data in data centers in Canada, having Canadian entities and people operate that infrastructure.”
Telus' Madan noted that the company has built sovereign AI compute facilities precisely to ensure Canadian control over sensitive data and the systems that process it. “We own the land, we own the data centers, we own the chips, we make conscious decisions on investing in the right way,” he said. “It’s Canadian teams in Canada that run and operate it.”
For both executives, sovereignty is not isolationism but a foundation for trust and innovation. As Madan put it, “Sovereignty is not solitude”, Canada must partner with like-minded nations while ensuring domestic resilience.
A sustainability advantage
One of Canada’s most significant, and perhaps overlooked, advantages is sustainability. In an era when AI compute demands enormous power, Canada’s mix of abundant hydroelectricity and naturally cold climate offers a global competitive edge.
“The largest advantage we have is hydroelectricity,” said Pantazopoulos. “Clean energy. We have an abundance of it.” Bell is already designing its data centers to harness this environmental strength, including reusing heat for local districts and working with First Nations communities during development.
Telus sees similar benefits. Its Rimouski data center operates with “99% free cooling,” Madan explained, thanks to northern temperatures. Some international partners, he noted, are “blown away” by Canada’s low power usage and water consumption metrics.
This combination of clean power, cool climate, and modern fiber networks positions Canada as one of the few nations capable of hosting sustainable, sovereign AI at scale.
Canada’s talent can power its leadership
All panelists agreed that Canada’s AI leadership will ultimately rest on its people. “We have the universities, we have the tech skills, and I think that’s definitely a competitive advantage,” Alexson said. But retaining talent is essential. As Madan warned, Canada must ensure its brightest minds are not pulled away by Silicon Valley: “We truly need to stop the brain drain.”
Pantazopoulos captured the notion bluntly: “AI will not replace people. AI will replace people who don’t use AI.”
A moment Canada cannot afford to miss
The message across the panel was clear: Canada is uniquely positioned—geographically, energetically, politically, and technically—to lead the world in responsible, sovereign, sustainable AI. But the opportunity window is fast-moving.
“We have so many natural advantages that we should be a force globally,” Madan said.
If Canada acts with urgency, investing in sovereignty, sustainability, and talent—its telecom sector could anchor a globally competitive AI ecosystem.
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