Canada’s Digital Sovereignty Dilemma: Constitutional Control or Operational Compliance?

This case, set in spring 2026, places students in the role of Canada’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, who must respond to the Treasury Board of Canada’s October 2025 Digital Sovereignty Framework and a parallel shift in US policy toward leverage-based digital statecraft. The framework treats digital sovereignty as an internal operational and procurement issue and concedes that complete sovereignty is “impossible.” The United States treats foreign digital regulation as a non-tariff barrier subject to retaliation.

This case should help students see that the US position on digital governance is no longer the product of separate actions by separate agencies. It is integrated across five tracks: trade policy; AI policy; foreign affairs; national security; and industry alignment.