The divide in digital sovereignty: Key findings from the Balsillie survey

Widespread concerns about regulation, innovation, and implementation of technology in Canada’s industries dominated responses in the 2025 Balsillie Survey, according to a report published on May 12 by the Balsillie School of International Affairs.

“There are no adequate policy levers to move research to Canadian innovation,” stated survey participant and executive Jim Hinton in his response in the report. Hinton added that “the current policy accelerates the movement of Canadian research to foreign innovation” and “is designed to promote… foreign branch plants.”

The annual Balsillie survey collected policy-related feedback on Canada’s technology sovereignty to gather insights from respondents across multiple industry, policy, and research sectors.The latest report is based on 36 responses, given by stakeholders across different roles, sectors, and levels of experience. Responses were collected through an online survey distributed to industry associations, in addition to select companies, organizations, academics and government officials. Most respondents self-reported as working in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector or sectors in the “other” category, which includes the automotive industry, education, and national security. Industry leaders and start-ups represent more than half of the total responses, while over 60 per cent of the total respondents have reported occupying a senior leadership role in their sector.

Many stakeholders expressed dissatisfaction regarding Canada’s technology landscape, with more than half of respondents noting barriers in commercializing domestic innovation and strengthening Canada’s digital sovereignty. Only about 6 per cent of respondents found current federal policy tools to be effective, with 30 per cent viewing the country’s regulatory framework as “unclear” or “very unclear”. Participants also expressed concern over the government’s failure to prioritise domestic solutions and to position Canada as a key customer. This contributes to a “procurement gap,” leading to negative effects like the loss of skilled labour to other countries (also commonly known as “brain drain”).

The survey also highlighted the increasing importance of transparency and trust in governance. Stakeholders reported facing inconsistent provincial and federal domain regulatory requirements that hinder the development of sovereign and independently verifiable systems, defined as “regulatory fog” in the report. In addition, about 81 per cent of the participants answered that trust is “very important” to technological success.

Aside from topics related to Canadian and global innovation, the Balsillie survey also collected feedback on organizational classification, such as how respondents in ICT and other sectors have expressed that current categories for their sectors are outdated compared to others.

The report also includes recommendations for addressing these key concerns in Canada’s technology landscape with regards to governmental, industry, and public interests. Two proposed courses of action are the creation of a central innovation agency to support innovations and the continued pursuit of diverse global economic partnerships. Promoting domestic procurement of Canadian products, monetization of Intellectual Property (IP), and the scaling of fundamental industries are also recommended to protect Canadian industry interests.For the greater public interest, the report also recommends fostering trust among entrepreneurs in the Canadian economy, enhancing governance of emerging technologies and expanding awareness of digital civics in society at large.

The full survey report can be found here.