Caseway shifts focus from US government work to Canadian defence

Caseway: Caseway is an Ottawa-based artificial intelligence company developing tools for legal and defence-related applications. The company has chosen to turn away from U.S. government opportunities amid bilateral trade tensions and instead prioritize Canadian defence work along with markets in Europe and Taiwan. CEO Al Vigier cited discomfort with assisting U.S. AI efforts while facing threats to Canada as central to the shift. Al Vigier: Al Vigier serves as CEO and founder of Caseway, the Canadian AI firm specializing in legal and defence tools. He has explained the company's pivot away from U.S. contracts, linking the decision to President Donald Trump's comments suggesting Canada become the 51st state. Vigier has also noted difficulties raising domestic capital while viewing increased federal defence attention as a potential opportunity. Sean Mullin: Sean Mullin is a University of Toronto expert focused on innovation and technology policy. He has pointed to Canada's reliance on U.S. infrastructure for AI investment and raised concerns over sensitive government and defence data flowing through foreign systems. Mullin recommends that Canadian firms target specific value-add positions within the broader global AI supply chain. Sovereign AI: The federal government has welcomed major private investments in domestic AI data centres and infrastructure to build computing capacity under Canadian control and reduce external dependencies. Bilateral Tensions: Ongoing trade frictions with the United States have led some Canadian AI and defence firms to reassess cross-border opportunities and seek greater self-reliance. Defence Procurement: Canada is reforming its defence buying processes to accelerate procurement and support domestic companies through a new Crown corporation structure for the Defence Investment Agency.