By Alex BallingallDeputy Ottawa Bureau Chief
OTTAWA — Defence Minister David McGuinty is standing by his department’s decision to sign a new contract with the American data giant Palantir, stating the deal is a “legitimate procurement” with the Canadian branch of the controversial company.
McGuinty was responding after the Star revealed the Department of Defence quietly inked a $3.7-million contract with Palantir, sparking concerns from some artificial intelligence experts who say the company’s track record and the philosophy of its chief executive raise questions as the federal government promises to pursue “data sovereignty” for digital services in the military.
“Palantir Canada is a Canadian company, subsidiary to Palantir global,” McGuinty said, referring to the parent company based in the United States that was co-founded by a tech billionaire with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“It was a legitimate procurement and it’s moving forward,” McGuinty said, speaking to reporters at the CANSEC military industrial conference near the Ottawa airport on Wednesday.
The minister added that “we’ll look at this question of data sovereignty,” and stressed that the Carney government will direct its military spending as much as possible to companies that “build in Canada.”
The existence of the latest Palantir contract came in a trove of documents tabled in April in response to a question from a Conservative MP, who asked for a list of government contracts with AI companies since January 2023. It showed the Canadian military used a “call up” on an existing “supply arrangement” with Palantir for a “data integration and analytics platform subscription.” The contract was worth more than $3.7 million, with a timeline from June 2025 to June 2026.
Spokespeople for the Defence Department have not responded to questions about this contract since Monday, and told the Star on Wednesday that they were still working on an official written answer.
Palantir has also not responded to the Star’s inquiries this week.
It’s not clear whether the new contract is linked to an earlier agreement with Palantir from March 2020, earmarked last year in a separate tranche of at $14.4 million. The government also signed a contract worth almost $1 million with Palantir in 2019 for “information technology and telecommunications consultants,” according to an online federal database.
The company has been criticized by organizations like Amnesty International and the American Immigration Council, including for its work with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), the agency that has sent masked officers to rounded up alleged illegal immigrants under the Trump administration.
Its chief executive officer has also argued in a recent book about the alleged perils of “hollow pluralism” in Western countries and proclaimed Big Tech companies have a “moral obligation” to defend the United States, according to a summary that Palantir posted to social media in April.
Jennifer Evans, a principal at the consultancy and research firm PatternPulse AI, said the military’s use of Palantir is concerning because of a 2018 law in the U.S. that could compel companies to hand over data to the American government.
Ottawa began negotiations with the U.S. government for an agreement under that law in 2022, while the Carney government has pledged a strategy to establish “data sovereignty” and keep Canadian control over sensitive online information.
would very much appreciate someone kindly explaining to me WHAT THE FUCK WE ARE DOING
deleted by creator
Sounds about right, I so want this capitalism thing to find its end.
It won’t find its end. We have to kill it. We have to find alternative ways to live, to make a living, to rely on each other, and only then will capitalism wither and die on the vile vine that spawned it. We need to have a higher calling than money, a greater empathy for our fellow humans, a different definition of success and prosperity. These are things that capitalism does not encourage and does not make easy, but they are within us, and are in fact fully within our grasp at this very moment. We just need to collectively decide to reduce our participation in capitalism, and try something new. Resist the old ways. Don’t do what the TV or social media are telling you. Do something local. Find real people, be a real person, find a community of real people, and help out your community. Your time is your most valuable asset. Capitalism tries to monetize it and steal it and ruin it if it can’t, but it’s still yours.
Capitalism will kill its self eventually, there is not infinite growth in our finite reach. I do agree with you on all other points though.
It will die on its own eventually, but we will all die first, before it does. It will consume us on its way out while it starves. We have to kill it if we want to survive.
raise questions as the federal government promises to pursue “data sovereignty” for digital services in the military.
“Palantir Canada is a Canadian company, subsidiary to Palantir global,” McGuinty said, referring to the parent company based in the United States that was co-founded by a tech billionaire with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“It was a legitimate procurement and it’s moving forward,” McGuinty said, speaking to reporters at the CANSEC military industrial conference near the Ottawa airport on Wednesday.
Smoke and mirrors - simulate sovereignty while doing business as usual when money exchanges hands. I’m so tired at politicians peddling idealistic bullshit while keep slaving to American (and Canadian) capital…
We’ll look into your concerns tho.
It’s exhausting ffs
And if the parent company gets a request it has to follow it. And the parent company has access to all subsidies.
As a yank I lack working knowledge of Canada’s government and politicians but I had a bad feeling about this happening… Our governments and fellow countrymen have betrayed us. As an engineer I can tell you we already have enough data centers for general use and whatever they’re building over here can only be for nefarious purposes.
These bastards are the true face of evil.
“Elbows up” lasted exactly as long as it took Mark Carney to say it.
Y’know, now that you mention it, I haven’t seen any “fell for it again” award posts for the Canadians who voted for the Neolib final boss, Mark Carney, and thought that the man was in any way concerned with their best interests. I wonder if there’s any other group who infamously fell for such an obvious lie.
Well PP was definitely not a choice and nobody else has a chance of winning, so…
That’s the real thing I see everyone missing, it was this guy, who at least seemed to be an adult, or pissy pants, who had nothing but identity politics he didn’t even care about, except he wanted to court the asshole vote
I think it is hilarious that you thought anyone missed the main selling point of the Liberal party in 2025’s election. How pompous.
Lol, do you not see the people talking about how they wish they voted some other way, as if that was a real option, if you haven’t, then you’re not paying attention
Also, does anyone else find calling someone pompous incredibly ironic
Two circular arguments in a row, we’ve got a pro incessantly-confidently-incorrect vibes-expert here.
You uh, you think you’re the first person to see how contradiction and learned helplessness functions in a liberal system? I know you haven’t read about it, because people have been saying that shit for centuries, so it’d be an incredible feat of arrogance to both think that and think that it makes you smarter than the gormless peasants around you.
Total “smartest kid at the small-town school” energy from this fella.
I agree, this interaction has been pointless for both of us, maybe stop picking fights with people and you’ll learn how to make friends
Damn, are you telling me we’re under a two party system where both options are neoliberals with fascistic intent? That’s crazy, how could that happen? Sure is good we have this Carney guy then, who is definitely better than Poilievre and not idealistically aligned with him in any way. We have to vote for him because the other one is a threat to our way of life and democratic tradition. Where have you heard that fucking everywhere?
I don’t know how you could post this comment under “libs got fooled and it contradicts their love of calling MAGAts idiots for falling for the exact same trick by the same kind of people.” Like, is it because Carney talks better?
Yes
For you:
Thanks, award would have gone for me too if I voted for PP.
Oh wow, you seriously don’t get it.
My dumb american ass thinking Canada was the better one, and now I’m watching it slide into fascism in real time… Holy hell.
I’m pretty sure Palantir gave him millions of reasons for him to come to this conclusion.
Mr Speaker, will the defence minister disclose what other neo-nazi owned companies does Canada do deals with?
ICE, we sell them armored vehicles.
And host offices here for them.
Hey theil and carp, since you’re already recording everything on the internet to use as blackmail, go fucking rot in a hole with the rest of your rich parasite buddies, and actually make the world a better place by not being in it.
sincerely, Fucking Everyone.
its mostly THEIL, karp is his puppet so that thiel can work in the shadows. anti-christ whom thiel is obsessed with have 'posessed puppets" to do thier dirty work.
One of the anti-apostles so to speak. I’d still rather the world be rid of these stooges as well
One corporation to rule them all and in the darkness bind them.
If there’s one thing to take from Tolkien, it’s that evil always destroys itself through its own hubris.
Sometimes it takes a lot of innocents with it, though. Generations of them.
FUCK.
The defense minister should have to be live-streamed 24/7 if he can sell everyone else out like that
Just a reminder that Mark Carney is invested in Palantir according to his summary statement.
I can’t say I’m not angry about all this, but there’s like, hundreds of different stocks listed in this, hard to say exactly how invested he is in any one thing. Probably best if he wasn’t invested in any of them, but who could be surprised that a banker is waist deep in investments
And yet, here is his government choosing to do business with this company despite definitely suffering a political cost for it. And trying to pass it off as a Canadian company in such a brazen way that anyone with a modicum of self-respect should be insulted that they think you are that stupid. He didn’t need to do this, at all. Maybe it’s coincidental, but it doesn’t look good to me.
Aren’t these things that he’s divested from in 2025 in line with the Conflict of Interest Act though?
From the document:
APPENDIX TO THE SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE MARK J. CARNEY, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA
Divestment of the following in a blind trust established pursuant to section 27 of the Ac
I think calling placing his investments in a blind trust “divestment” is playing a little fast and loose with the definition. He still owns the stocks, he’s just not allowed to manage them or keep track of them. But we didn’t hit the guy with the amnesia ray, he knows he’s invested in these companies.
I mean that’s fair. Though he can’t know if the trust sold off the stocks. But then again, we have no idea who the trust is (a friend maybe?), if he gave instructions before hand, etc.
Safe to say though - if he invested in palantir, the trust wouldn’t sell it because it financially makes sense to hold, and therefore Mark can continue making federal investments with that in mind.
This, the Pentagon buying up stakes in our mining companies (so minerals needed for green tech get diverted toward their military endeavours), and overreliance on fossil fuels? All of this supports US empire in the biggest possible way short of completely surrendering to them. It’s hard to believe officials could be so incompetent as to not realize that.
They’re not incompetent. They know. They shout “elbows up” to win our votes and sell us out to the highest bidder.
Hmmm, so when do the flocks start going up?
It is not a Canadian company. What a stupid thing dir him to say. MS has already stated all American companies have to follow American court order even if they go against another countries laws. Sonic we say all data has to stay in Canada that is pointless.
