The Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy
@canadianshieldinstitute.ca
A new policy studio dedicated to unleashing Canada's true potential.
Our name stands for: Securing Homegrown Innovation, Economic Leadership, and Defence.
Our newsletter: The National Interest
Our website: https://canadianshieldinstitute.ca
Our name stands for: Securing Homegrown Innovation, Economic Leadership, and Defence.
Our newsletter: The National Interest
Our website: https://canadianshieldinstitute.ca
Canada is spending $40M for 5G R&D at Nokia’s Ottawa campus. Is this good for Canadian sovereignty?
Here's our SHIELD Score analysis of the decision: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Here's our SHIELD Score analysis of the decision: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
December 9, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Canada is spending $40M for 5G R&D at Nokia’s Ottawa campus. Is this good for Canadian sovereignty?
Here's our SHIELD Score analysis of the decision: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Here's our SHIELD Score analysis of the decision: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Canada created a central bank to stop foreign control of our money. Now, digital dollars and foreign platforms could undo a century of sovereignty.
Read more in this week’s National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in this week’s National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
December 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Canada created a central bank to stop foreign control of our money. Now, digital dollars and foreign platforms could undo a century of sovereignty.
Read more in this week’s National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in this week’s National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Reposted by The Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy
In our first panel, moderator @vassb.bsky.social (Managing Director, @canadianshieldinstitute.ca) spoke with @profjquaid.bsky.social (Professor in the Civil Law Section, University of Ottawa) how advertising technology is reshaping competition, value chains, and sovereignty in Canada. 🧵
December 4, 2025 at 11:17 PM
In our first panel, moderator @vassb.bsky.social (Managing Director, @canadianshieldinstitute.ca) spoke with @profjquaid.bsky.social (Professor in the Civil Law Section, University of Ottawa) how advertising technology is reshaping competition, value chains, and sovereignty in Canada. 🧵
"Slopification" is a cultural annoyance and contemporary sovereignty issue. AI is flooding feeds making it difficult to know what's real and impossible to know what’s Canadian.
Learn how CanCon rules intersect with AI-driven content in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/2582nzkc
Learn how CanCon rules intersect with AI-driven content in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/2582nzkc
November 28, 2025 at 7:45 PM
"Slopification" is a cultural annoyance and contemporary sovereignty issue. AI is flooding feeds making it difficult to know what's real and impossible to know what’s Canadian.
Learn how CanCon rules intersect with AI-driven content in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/2582nzkc
Learn how CanCon rules intersect with AI-driven content in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/2582nzkc
Reposted by The Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy
AI and the Growing Economy of Fraud is a free event presented by @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social, @canadianshieldinstitute.ca and MASS LBP, funded by the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation.
Space is limited so we encourage you to reserve as soon as possible. Click here to register: tinyurl.com/fyaakr3n
Space is limited so we encourage you to reserve as soon as possible. Click here to register: tinyurl.com/fyaakr3n
AI and the Growing Economy of Fraud
AI is reshaping fraud. Join experts in Ottawa to chart Canada’s path against deepfakes and digital deception.
tinyurl.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
AI and the Growing Economy of Fraud is a free event presented by @mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social, @canadianshieldinstitute.ca and MASS LBP, funded by the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation.
Space is limited so we encourage you to reserve as soon as possible. Click here to register: tinyurl.com/fyaakr3n
Space is limited so we encourage you to reserve as soon as possible. Click here to register: tinyurl.com/fyaakr3n
You might already be an unpaid AI trainer, platforms just forgot to tell you. Today’s newsletter breaks down what's hidden in the ToS: using a service can now mean building its AI in the background, pro bono.
Read more in The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
November 21, 2025 at 7:15 PM
You might already be an unpaid AI trainer, platforms just forgot to tell you. Today’s newsletter breaks down what's hidden in the ToS: using a service can now mean building its AI in the background, pro bono.
Read more in The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
This week, the federal government finalized their $400M loan to keep Algoma Steel running. Check out what the agreement means for Canadian sovereignty and economic transformation in our second SHIELD Sovereignty Score!
Read The Score here: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Read The Score here: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
November 20, 2025 at 5:26 PM
This week, the federal government finalized their $400M loan to keep Algoma Steel running. Check out what the agreement means for Canadian sovereignty and economic transformation in our second SHIELD Sovereignty Score!
Read The Score here: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Read The Score here: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Our first SHIELD Score is here! After evaluating the federal government’s $240 million investment in Cohere, we determined that its expected effects on Canadian sovereignty and economic prosperity rate at only 2/10.
Read the full analysis here: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Read the full analysis here: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
November 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Our first SHIELD Score is here! After evaluating the federal government’s $240 million investment in Cohere, we determined that its expected effects on Canadian sovereignty and economic prosperity rate at only 2/10.
Read the full analysis here: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Read the full analysis here: img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e3...
Tariffs are only part of Canada’s trade story; the real pressure comes from the digital toll roads running our economy. App-store cuts, e-commerce fees and ad-tech costs set the terms in ways we rarely acknowledge.
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/mrx3wtzd
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/mrx3wtzd
November 14, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Tariffs are only part of Canada’s trade story; the real pressure comes from the digital toll roads running our economy. App-store cuts, e-commerce fees and ad-tech costs set the terms in ways we rarely acknowledge.
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/mrx3wtzd
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/mrx3wtzd
As we digest #Budget2025 we're asking, did Canada forget about the internet?
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest, here: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest, here: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
November 7, 2025 at 9:48 PM
As we digest #Budget2025 we're asking, did Canada forget about the internet?
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest, here: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest, here: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Agentic commerce — where AI agents buy and sell autonomously on your behalf — could quietly rewrite the rules of trade. Canada must keep oversight in the national interest as we regulate AI.
Read more in our Newsletter, The National Interest, here: tinyurl.com/yr8ycdxn
Read more in our Newsletter, The National Interest, here: tinyurl.com/yr8ycdxn
October 31, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Agentic commerce — where AI agents buy and sell autonomously on your behalf — could quietly rewrite the rules of trade. Canada must keep oversight in the national interest as we regulate AI.
Read more in our Newsletter, The National Interest, here: tinyurl.com/yr8ycdxn
Read more in our Newsletter, The National Interest, here: tinyurl.com/yr8ycdxn
Reposted by The Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy
Tune in tomorrow as were joined by Vass Bednar and Kaylie Tiessen of the @canadianshieldinstitute.ca to talk about defending Canada's economic sovereignty. youtu.be/s00SixBoy8Y
#canadiansovereignty #economicsovereignty #canadianeconomy #progresscanada
#canadiansovereignty #economicsovereignty #canadianeconomy #progresscanada
Optimism About Defending Canada's Economic Sovereignty
YouTube video by Progress Canada
youtu.be
October 30, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Tune in tomorrow as were joined by Vass Bednar and Kaylie Tiessen of the @canadianshieldinstitute.ca to talk about defending Canada's economic sovereignty. youtu.be/s00SixBoy8Y
#canadiansovereignty #economicsovereignty #canadianeconomy #progresscanada
#canadiansovereignty #economicsovereignty #canadianeconomy #progresscanada
Reposted by The Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy
Balsillie outlined his 3-pronged approach to building AI for all: Build, Protect, Empower ⬇️
1. Building our digital infrastructure
2. Introducing legislation on privacy and data
3. Empowering our citizens, businesses, and governments.
1. Building our digital infrastructure
2. Introducing legislation on privacy and data
3. Empowering our citizens, businesses, and governments.
October 24, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Balsillie outlined his 3-pronged approach to building AI for all: Build, Protect, Empower ⬇️
1. Building our digital infrastructure
2. Introducing legislation on privacy and data
3. Empowering our citizens, businesses, and governments.
1. Building our digital infrastructure
2. Introducing legislation on privacy and data
3. Empowering our citizens, businesses, and governments.
Managing Director, Vass Bednar, speaks on Blue Jays World Series ticket resale prices and possible regulation with CBC News.
Market regulation opportunities are my bat signal. When there is an opportunity to talk about how to make competition more fair or just make sense of how things work, I tend to appear. Here's a clip from the National earlier this week. GO JAYS!
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Blue Jays World Series ticket resale prices ignite calls for regulation
Toronto Blue Jays fans were queued up in the thousands to land tickets to the World Series games at Roger’s Centre, but many couldn’t get access and were frustrated to see resale tickets priced at tho...
www.cbc.ca
October 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Managing Director, Vass Bednar, speaks on Blue Jays World Series ticket resale prices and possible regulation with CBC News.
Sovereignty-washing is the new greenwashing: an attempt to launder global dependencies through patriotic language. SHIELD’s latest newsletter breaks down how some patriotic branding may be deceptive advertising & what real sovereignty truly is.
Read The National Interest here: tinyurl.com/24xf6fnc
Read The National Interest here: tinyurl.com/24xf6fnc
When everything’s sovereign, nothing is.
app.cyberimpact.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Sovereignty-washing is the new greenwashing: an attempt to launder global dependencies through patriotic language. SHIELD’s latest newsletter breaks down how some patriotic branding may be deceptive advertising & what real sovereignty truly is.
Read The National Interest here: tinyurl.com/24xf6fnc
Read The National Interest here: tinyurl.com/24xf6fnc
Our Managing Director, Vass Bednar, joined CBC News to discuss the AWS outage and digital sovereignty.
"But if we ignore realities of how firms are competing or how they're structured, how they've evolved over time, then those conversations around things like barriers to entry or getting a new entrant to the marketplace are really difficult." #digitalsovereignty www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Why the AWS outage exposed the risks of depending on a single company | CBC News
A few days after Amazon's cloud services company AWS had an outage that plunged millions of popular websites and apps into the dark, questions still linger about why some companies get so big in the f...
www.cbc.ca
October 24, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Our Managing Director, Vass Bednar, joined CBC News to discuss the AWS outage and digital sovereignty.
Reposted by The Canadian SHIELD Institute for Public Policy
Canada is waking up to the risks of relying on US tech giants for digital infrastructure, writes Canadian SHIELD Institute researcher and Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project fellow Emily Osborne. As Canada pursues a sovereign cloud, clarity and control—not marketing—should guide the path to independence.
What Does a “Sovereign Cloud” Really Mean? | TechPolicy.Press
Emily Osborne discusses approaches to building a "sovereign cloud" for Canada.
www.techpolicy.press
October 20, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Canada is waking up to the risks of relying on US tech giants for digital infrastructure, writes Canadian SHIELD Institute researcher and Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project fellow Emily Osborne. As Canada pursues a sovereign cloud, clarity and control—not marketing—should guide the path to independence.
Canada polices country-of-origin labels for boots and berries but not for the policy advice that shapes our laws. Ottawa may think they're "buying" Canadian advice but the reality is much more complicated.
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Who really speaks for Canadian business?
app.cyberimpact.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Canada polices country-of-origin labels for boots and berries but not for the policy advice that shapes our laws. Ottawa may think they're "buying" Canadian advice but the reality is much more complicated.
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
"Sovereignty" is everywhere right now but what does it actually mean? We built the SHIELD Score to test whether policies truly shift control and value toward Canada.
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Introducing the SHIELD Sovereignty Score
app.cyberimpact.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:24 PM
"Sovereignty" is everywhere right now but what does it actually mean? We built the SHIELD Score to test whether policies truly shift control and value toward Canada.
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Hollywood’s new 'star' Tilly Norwood isn’t real (or at least, not human). But the jobs she might take are. This week we wrote about what happens when avatars cross from novelty to normalized labour.
You can read about it in The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
You can read about it in The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Canada’s next sovereignty test: counterfeit people
app.cyberimpact.com
October 3, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Hollywood’s new 'star' Tilly Norwood isn’t real (or at least, not human). But the jobs she might take are. This week we wrote about what happens when avatars cross from novelty to normalized labour.
You can read about it in The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
You can read about it in The National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Today, placing a call on your cell phone relies on US controlled infrastructure because we didn't bother to build our own. It’s a hidden risk to privacy, security, and sovereignty and a reminder why Canada needs a stronger digital foundation.
Read more in The National Interest: tinyurl.com/zcn8c5v9
Read more in The National Interest: tinyurl.com/zcn8c5v9
Sovereignty is calling: infrastructure interdependency
tinyurl.com
September 26, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Today, placing a call on your cell phone relies on US controlled infrastructure because we didn't bother to build our own. It’s a hidden risk to privacy, security, and sovereignty and a reminder why Canada needs a stronger digital foundation.
Read more in The National Interest: tinyurl.com/zcn8c5v9
Read more in The National Interest: tinyurl.com/zcn8c5v9
America took a particular path when it comes to TikTok. This week we contrast their legislative approach with Canada's, and ask whether a similar forced divestiture is possible here.
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/3x92up4f
#HowCanadaWorks #PolicyWithPurpose
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/3x92up4f
#HowCanadaWorks #PolicyWithPurpose
Algorithmic vassal state: TikTok, Canada and sovereignty
tinyurl.com
September 19, 2025 at 5:10 PM
America took a particular path when it comes to TikTok. This week we contrast their legislative approach with Canada's, and ask whether a similar forced divestiture is possible here.
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/3x92up4f
#HowCanadaWorks #PolicyWithPurpose
Read more in our newsletter, The National Interest: tinyurl.com/3x92up4f
#HowCanadaWorks #PolicyWithPurpose
Amazon’s new smart glasses put surveillance back on our noses. Hidden cameras, AI, and foreign data pipelines raise urgent privacy and sovereignty concerns. Should Canada regulate at point of sale or let "the market" decide?
Read more in the National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in the National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Sovereignty in your face: "smart" glasses and national interests
app.cyberimpact.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Amazon’s new smart glasses put surveillance back on our noses. Hidden cameras, AI, and foreign data pipelines raise urgent privacy and sovereignty concerns. Should Canada regulate at point of sale or let "the market" decide?
Read more in the National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Read more in the National Interest: app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Crown Royal's label still says “Canadian Whisky” but the jobs, profits, and ownership tell a different story.
Diageo’s Amherstburg closure shows how much of Canada’s whisky industry is controlled from abroad.
Read more in our newsletter The National Interest.
app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Diageo’s Amherstburg closure shows how much of Canada’s whisky industry is controlled from abroad.
Read more in our newsletter The National Interest.
app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Sovereignty on the rocks
app.cyberimpact.com
September 5, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Crown Royal's label still says “Canadian Whisky” but the jobs, profits, and ownership tell a different story.
Diageo’s Amherstburg closure shows how much of Canada’s whisky industry is controlled from abroad.
Read more in our newsletter The National Interest.
app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Diageo’s Amherstburg closure shows how much of Canada’s whisky industry is controlled from abroad.
Read more in our newsletter The National Interest.
app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-v...
Canada’s future depends on smart policy and bold leadership.
The Canadian SHIELD Institute is advancing ideas to strengthen homegrown innovation, economic leadership, and defence. Stay informed—sign up for updates today.
Visit CanadianShieldInstitute.ca to stay connected.
The Canadian SHIELD Institute is advancing ideas to strengthen homegrown innovation, economic leadership, and defence. Stay informed—sign up for updates today.
Visit CanadianShieldInstitute.ca to stay connected.
February 3, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Canada’s future depends on smart policy and bold leadership.
The Canadian SHIELD Institute is advancing ideas to strengthen homegrown innovation, economic leadership, and defence. Stay informed—sign up for updates today.
Visit CanadianShieldInstitute.ca to stay connected.
The Canadian SHIELD Institute is advancing ideas to strengthen homegrown innovation, economic leadership, and defence. Stay informed—sign up for updates today.
Visit CanadianShieldInstitute.ca to stay connected.