Caseway turns away from US defence work amid trade tensions, says Global News
Vancouver-based artificial intelligence company Caseway is turning away from new U.S. government defence opportunities, citing trade tensions and President Donald Trump’s repeated suggestions that Canada become the 51st state, as reported by Global News.
Cancelling Silicon Valley Pitch Plans Over Political Pressures
“I’m not comfortable going in and helping the U.S. with their AI needs at the same time that they’re threatening us,” Caseway CEO Al Vigier told Global News. Vigier cancelled plans to attend The AI Conference in San Francisco and withdrew from the Canadian Technology Accelerator’s Silicon Valley program, walking away from potential funding rounds that could have reached $50 million to $100 million. The company had secured one of just eight presentation spots out of 137 applicants.
The decision follows months of escalating trade disputes and tariffs. Despite pulling back from new federal defence contracts, Vigier confirmed that Caseway will maintain existing American commercial clients and retain its U.S. government supplier registrations.
Supply Chain Vulnerabilities and the Push for Domestic Infrastructure
The strategic shift brings fresh urgency to discussions surrounding Canada’s heavy reliance on American digital infrastructure for sensitive data. “How can we make sure that we’re not completely dependent on maybe an unreliable United States?” asked Sean Mullin, a University of Toronto expert focused on innovation and technology policy, in reporting covered by Global News. Mullin emphasized that government operations and top-secret data require domestic control.
While the federal government has committed funds to quantum computing, data centres, and the electricity grid, building that capacity requires extensive time and capital. Mullin suggested that Canada should focus on finding specialized niches within the broader supply chain rather than attempting to build every component of the ecosystem domestically, pointing out that Canada is unlikely to scale companies to the level of OpenAI or Anthropic.
Caseway Targets Foreign Markets Amid Domestic Funding Hurdles
Caseway is actively redirecting its business development toward Canadian defence, Europe, and Taiwan. Vigier noted that raising capital domestically remains a significant hurdle, stating that it is hard to raise capital in Canada. Conversely, the federal AI minister’s office pointed to existing funding commitments and plans to utilize the federal government as an anchor customer.
Vigier described increased federal spending on defence as a notable opportunity, though he cautioned that a recent procurement effort acts as a crucial test for whether Ottawa can move quickly enough to support domestic enterprises. The broader challenge for the sector remains how swiftly domestic infrastructure can expand to support companies reducing their reliance on the United States.