With global and geopolitical pressures increasing, nine in 10 business leaders say it is more important than ever to keep sensitive data within Canada, making AI data sovereignty a non-negotiable requirement as their AI usage expands, according to a new study commissioned by Bell.
The Bell Enterprise AI Study was conducted by The Harris Poll Canada in October 2025. Data was collected from 207 senior IT and AI decision makers from large businesses (1,000 employees or more) across Canada, representing a mix of sectors and provinces, Bell said in a press release providing highlights of the study.
Nearly all large businesses in Canada (96 per cent) expect their AI usage to grow over the next three years and nearly all (99 per cent) plan to invest in AI in the next one to two years, according to Bell’s study. Seventy-five per cent of the study’s participants say AI is a strategic, enterprise-wide priority, and more than half (56 per cent) of business leaders surveyed said AI will be core to their company’s future.
“While Canada and the U.S. remain vital allies and trading partners, the uncertainty of the past year has forced policymakers and business leaders to reevaluate certain assumptions about our economic relationships,” Bell CEO Mirko Bibic said at a Canadian Club Toronto event on Wednesday. “There is consensus among Canadians that we need to invest in an economy that is not as dependent on others as it has been in the past.”
Bibic noted that the company’s AI Fabric is delivering cloud services for Canadian businesses as “a trusted alternative to U.S.-owned providers that have traditionally dominated the market.”
The most common current uses for AI include quality control (44 per cent), data collection and analysis (39 per cent), and customer service automation (35 per cent), according to the study.
Despite enthusiasm for AI usage, survey respondents indicated several barriers to AI adoption remain, including data quality and availability, a lack of skilled talent, infrastructure gaps, and governance, risk and compliance concerns.
A key factor for businesses choosing AI solutions is environmental sustainability, according to the study. Nearly 80 per cent of business leaders surveyed consider environmental sustainability to be very or extremely important when making decisions about AI adoption and scaling. Large businesses, in particular, place great value on energy-efficient AI platforms, according to the study.
“Canada can lead – not follow – in the AI economy,” Bibic added Wednesday. “To do so, we need to move beyond cautious, incremental approaches and act quickly to challenge the status quo, accelerate adoption and spark innovation.
“It’s possible.”
Bell CEO Mirko Bibic at a Canadian Club Toronto event on Wednesday
