EU and Canada Forge Ahead on Digital Sovereignty, AI Cooperation, and Media Resilience at First Digital Partnership Council

The European Union and Canada formalized a new chapter in their technological and economic cooperation today, reinforcing their shared commitment to digital sovereignty, innovation, and democratic resilience during the inaugural EU–Canada Digital Partnership Council. The meeting, held in Montreal and co-chaired by Henna Virkkunen, EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, and Evan Solomon, Canada’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, took place on the sidelines of the G7 Industry, Digital and Technology Ministerial.

The Council builds on the momentum of both partners’ strategies to strengthen competitiveness and ensure that the future of the digital economy remains open, secure, and human-centric. Both sides emphasized the role of smart regulatory frameworks designed to help companies—especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—innovate responsibly and at scale.

A Strategic Push for Trustworthy AI and Adoption Across Key Sectors

One of the most consequential outcomes of the meeting was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Artificial Intelligence, underscoring a shared commitment to developing and governing AI technologies that respect fundamental rights while fueling economic growth.

Under this new agreement, the EU and Canada will:

• Align approaches on AI standards, regulation, skills development, and cross-border adoption.

• Accelerate the uptake of AI in strategic sectors including healthcare, energy, manufacturing, culture, science, and public services.

• Support SMEs in integrating AI tools in ways that strengthen competitiveness and productivity.

• Collaborate on large-scale AI infrastructures, enabling both industry and academia to access the compute capacity required for advanced AI research.

• Explore cooperation on next-generation AI models for the public good, including in extreme weather prediction, climate monitoring, and environmental risk assessment.

In keeping with the EU’s Apply AI Strategy and Canada’s AI development framework, the partners also agreed to launch a structured dialogue on data spaces, a foundational piece for training large models and developing interoperable digital ecosystems.

Advancing Digital Identity and Trust Services

Recognizing the critical role of trusted digital interactions in an increasingly online world, the two partners also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Digital Credentials and Trust Services.

The agreement paves the way for:

• A joint testing forum for digital credential technologies;

• Development of shared use cases and pilot projects;

• Progress toward interoperability between digital identity wallets, credential systems, and trust-service frameworks.

This cooperation aligns with global efforts to create secure, portable, privacy-preserving digital identity tools capable of functioning across borders.

Joint Commitment to Strengthening Independent Media

Beyond infrastructure and emerging technologies, the Digital Partnership Council addressed a crucial governance issue: the health and sustainability of independent media.

With the rise of generative AI, fragmented information spaces, and the dominance of a few online platforms, both the EU and Canada stressed that access to independent, pluralistic, reliable media is indispensable for democratic societies.

The partners agreed to:

• Explore deeper cooperation to support local journalism and media independence;

• Coordinate efforts to strengthen information integrity online, including combating foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI);

• Examine the unique risks AI poses to journalism and public trust.

Connectivity, Quantum, Semiconductors, and Arctic Resilience

Looking ahead, the EU and Canada committed to expanding their partnership into additional high-impact technologies and infrastructure, including

:

• Secure international connectivity, with special focus on 5G security and new subsea cable routes, including those traversing the Arctic to bolster global network resilience;

• Collaboration on quantum technologies, semiconductors, and high-performance computing;

• Strengthening semiconductor supply chain resilience and ensuring secure, sovereign cloud and data infrastructure.

A Partnership Anchored in Shared Democratic Values

The EU–Canada Digital Partnership, originally launched in November 2023, has quickly become a central pillar of the broader EU–Canada Strategic Partnership of the Future, adopted during the 2025 Summit. With today’s Council meeting, both sides have set a more ambitious agenda, reflecting a shared vision for a human-centric digital economy that protects rights, fosters innovation, and strengthens democracy.

In her remarks, EVP Henna Virkkunen emphasized the global significance of this cooperation:

“I am honoured to co-chair the first EU-Canada Digital Partnership Council meeting today, marking a significant step in strengthening our cooperation to build the economy of tomorrow. No single region can face the digital transformation alone. This is why I am glad that we agreed to advance our common work on digital technologies and policies, with a focus on AI innovation, digital identity and trust services, and independent media.”

As the world enters a new era defined by artificial intelligence, digital geopolitics, and rapid technological transformation, the EU–Canada alignment signals a clear message: democracies must work together to shape the future.