Why Open Source is Crucial for Canadian Data Sovereignty

In an increasingly digital world, the concept of Data Sovereignty – a nation’s ability to control its digital data and infrastructure – is becoming crucial, especially for Canada in a trade war with the US. My 15+ years experience hosting production Drupal sites has taught me the critical role open source software can play in data privacy. This experience regularly included deploying an array of open source products for automated testing, dev tools, pipelines, the LAMP stack, plus GitLab for hosting the codebase. I basically have a well established “open source habit” in setting up services. The benefits of open source was always clear to me, and now I see it aligns well with Data Sovereignty goals:

  • Great Community: Open source software is supported by a diverse global community, offering peer review and collaborative improvement.
  • No Licensing Hassles: It allows for greater control over software usage within organizations – no contracts with foreign vendors.
  • Enhanced Data Control & Privacy: Open source offers more control over how data is handled and stored, which is crucial for data sovereignty.
  • Vendor Independence: Avoid vendor lock-in with open source and open standards. This allows for the freedom to chose local vendors.

Now is the perfect time for Canada to prioritize and invest in open-source software for national data sovereignty. If we want to strengthening our economy, we should stop sending our data and money across the borders to foreign corporations.

To strengthen Canadian Data Sovereignty, we could actively:

  • Embrace “HomeLabs”: Small scale, self-hosting within Canada empowers data control at a grassroots level, building skills and digital autonomy. For example, Immich is a popular way to keep your photos in house and away from the big tech companies.
  • Support Canadian Cloud Providers: Choosing local hosting ensures data resides within Canadian jurisdiction, strengthening sovereignty and our tech sector. Government sites especially, should be choosing Canadian hosting providers. Migrate our websites north!
  • Seek Open Source Alternatives: I have been using the alternativeto website for years. I recently discovered a similar site OpenSourceAlternativeTo which has a healthy bias for finding open source products. I have found that many alternatives are robust and mature.

Choosing Open Source Software is a strategic move for Canada’s digital future and Data Sovereignty. By adopting and contributing to open source, we build a more secure and sovereign digital landscape for Canada.