The European Union and Canada have reinforced their cooperation in the digital sector, reaffirming shared goals to boost competitiveness, innovation, and economic resilience during the first Digital Partnership Council held in Montreal, Canada. The Council was held alongside the G7 Industry, Digital and Technology Ministerial meeting.

Co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Canada’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon, the Council set an ambitious agenda to deepen collaboration with like-minded partners on digital issues.

Promoting AI innovation and adoption
The EU and Canada committed to developing trustworthy AI technologies that respect fundamental rights while supporting trade, investment, and economic growth. A Memorandum of Understanding on Artificial Intelligence was signed to enhance cooperation on AI standards, regulation, skills development, and adoption. The partners will share best practices to accelerate AI adoption in strategic sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, energy, culture, science, and public services, with special support for SMEs. Cooperation will also include AI research, development of advanced AI models for public good, and access to large AI infrastructures.

Advancing digital credentials and trust services
To strengthen digital identity and trust services, the EU and Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Digital Credentials and Trust Services. A dedicated forum will support joint testing, pilot projects, and the development of interoperable digital identity wallets and credentials.

Expanding cooperation in strategic digital areas
The EU and Canada will also work together on secure international connectivity, including 5G and subsea cables, quantum technologies, semiconductors, high-performance computing, and resilient cloud infrastructure. They reaffirmed commitment to secure, sovereign data centres and resilient semiconductor supply chains.