Good morning. In the middle of a tense trade war, Canadian tech companies and policy makers are also fighting for sovereignty. Despite technological and legal challenges, there are increasing discussions to keep domestic data secured at home. That’s in focus today, along with Atlantic Canadian universities feeling the loss of international enrolment.

Trade: Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa will not impose countertariffs against the U.S. during trade talks

Metals: Multiyear drought for Canadian mining financing ends as companies raise $4.4-billion since start of September

Minerals: Natural Resources Minister says that the Canadian government is not concerned about U.S. stakes in critical-minerals companies

• Today: We’ll be watching August data for Canada’s international transactions in securities
• Later: Carney hints at easing corporate tax burden in budget
• Earnings: American Express Co.; Truist Financial Corp.; Leviathan Gold Ltd.

Hi, I’m Joe Castaldo, a business reporter with The Globe covering artificial intelligence.

Sovereignty is in. It’s no secret why, with U.S. President Donald Trump fantasizing about making Canada the 51st state and blowing up trade relationships. Many industries are now looking to lessen dependence on the United States.

That’s true for the digital economy, too, notably the expensive data-centre infrastructure behind artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Prime Minister Mark Carney, for one, wants to build a sovereign cloud for Canada, saying it will bring “independent control” over computing power.

I hear the word “sovereign” a lot in relation to technology. But the more I hear it, the less certain I am about its definition. Companies of all stripes are pitching sovereign solutions, be they Canadian, European or American. Even OpenAI was throwing around the word in Canada last week.

My colleague, innovation reporter Pippa Norman, and I dug in to find out what exactly digital sovereignty means, and just how achievable it is for Canada.

The flexibility of the term struck me at a large AI conference last month.

Lots of data-centre players had set up booths to peddle their wares. Everyone had a sovereign solution, it seemed, and it was always more sovereign than whatever the schmo in the next booth was selling. Ironically, all these companies were located in an area of the convention centre festooned with branding for Nvidia Corp., the American chip giant that supplies the AI industry. All of the companies talking about sovereignty were, in a way, dependent on Nvidia.

That highlights the challenges when it comes to digital sovereignty. Sure, we want control and security, but we still need to work with international companies and governments because we don’t have all the capacity here at home. That’s why federal AI Minister Evan Solomon has deployed a phrase seemingly so contradictory it could be a Zen koan: "sovereignty does not mean solitude.”

As the government hammers on about sovereignty, a variety of Canadian companies are stepping up. Both Bell and Telus are getting into the AI data-centre business, and emphasizing the Canadianness of their offerings. Quebec company Hypertec Group and its partner 5C Group think they can do even better on the sovereignty scale. Hypertec manufactures servers for data centres, while 5C actually operates these facilities. Together, they argue that they control more of the supply chain, cutting out intermediaries.

Even the U.S. tech giants are selling sovereignty to Canada. These companies are in an awkward spot. For years, they have offered services to the Canadian public and private sectors without much controversy.

But in this Trump era, they are viewed with suspicion, in part because U.S. legislation requires companies to comply with legal requests for data that may be stored abroad. Some experts argue that puts sensitive Canadian data at risk. Google says it uses encryption and air-gapping to protect data for Canadian clients. But does that count as sovereign? That’s TBD.

Michael Fekete, a lawyer focused on technology and AI at Osler, suggested that the concerns about the trustworthiness of the U.S. tech giants under the presidency of Trump may not be entirely sound. “The U.S. remains a rule-of-law country,” he told us. To suggest otherwise, he continued, “would be a conclusion based as much on fear as anything else.”

Whether driven by fear, patriotism or economic necessity, both industry and government will be talking about sovereignty for a while. And there are a lot of companies saying they can help Ottawa with its digital-sovereignty goals. Just as soon as we figure out what that means.

International enrolment is down nearly 28 per cent at universities in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, according to a preliminary survey of enrolment from the Association of Atlantic Universities. Meanwhile, a recent RBC report says that the Canadian postsecondary system should consider major changes to meet the economic challenges facing the country.