# Ottawa's latest deal with U.S. data giant Palantir raises warnings > Source: > Published: 2026-05-28 06:01:28+00:00 OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence quietly inked a $3.7-million contract last year with American data giant Palantir, newly released documents show. It’s the latest in what some experts see as the government’s deepening links to the controversial U.S. tech firm at a time when the Carney administration is trumpeting the need for data “sovereignty” in Canada. Reference to the contract is buried in [lengthy](https://www.ourcommons.ca/written-questions/45-1/q-937/14042542?showQuestion=true§ion=all) [documents](https://www.ourcommons.ca/written-questions/45-1/q-936/14042539?showQuestion=true§ion=all) tabled in Parliament in late April. The documents were released in response to questions from Conservative MP Jagsharan Singh Mahal, who asked for details about all federal contracts and other forms of work agreements with artificial intelligence (AI) companies since the beginning of 2023. Included in dozens of contracts signed by the Department of National Defence is an entry for “Palantir Technologies Canada,” a subsidiary of the company whose top executive — according to Palantir’s summary of his recent book — has called for conscription in the U.S. military, warned of the alleged perils of “hollow pluralism” in Western countries, and proclaimed Big Tech companies have a “moral obligation” to help defend the United States. The documents say the Canadian military used a “call up” on an existing “supply arrangement” with Palantir for a “data integration and analytics platform subscription” dated from June 27, 2025 to June 26. The documents include a price of more than $3.7 million. It’s not clear if the new contract is linked to, or on top of, a previous deal worth [$14.4 million](https://parl-gc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/delivery/01CALP_INST:01CALP/12177592250002616?lang=en) that DND signed with Palantir in March 2020. The Logic, a tech business publication, revealed the existence of that agreement last fall after it was disclosed in government documents that detailed all Palantir contracts from 2016 to May 2025. 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](https://search.open.canada.ca/contracts/record/dnd-mdn%2C2018-2019-Q4-05758). Asked for details about the latest contract on Monday, DND representatives said they were unable to respond by Tuesday afternoon, and gave no timeline for when they would answer basic questions about the department’s use of Palantir software. Jennifer Evans, principal at the consultancy and research firm PatternPulse AI, said the phrasing of the newly disclosed contract could be linked to a 2023 [distribution deal](https://www.carahsoft.com/news/palantir-carahsoft-expand-partnership-to-deliver-mission-critical-software-to-canadian-public-sector-2024) that Palantir struck with Carahsoft, another American company that is part of the federal government’s Software Licensing Supply Arrangement. That [program](https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/services/acquisitions/software/categories-description.html) is meant to make it simpler for government departments to sign contracts with approved private software suppliers. Though the new contract is relatively small for a government purchase, Evans said she concerned that the government is using powerful American companies that are subject to Washington’s CLOUD Act. Passed in 2018, the legislation has sparked warnings about data security since companies based in the U.S. are required to hand over data in their “possession, custody or control.” The government [began negotiations](https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/united-states-and-canada-welcome-negotiations-cloud-act-agreement) with the U.S. government for an agreement under the CLOUD Act in 2022, while the Carney government has [pledged](https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2025/11/13/prime-minister-carney-announces-second-tranche-nation-building-projects) a strategy to establish “data sovereignty” and keep Canadian control over sensitive online information. Evans suggested the links to Palantir could make government data vulnerable to a foreign government, which she said is especially concerning in light of Carney’s efforts to reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S. and Trump’s repeated statements about making Canada the “51st state” of his country. “Palantir is being used to run analysis on Canadian military data,” she said. “That’s a pretty big piece of Canadian sovereignty data-exposure, to put it mildly.” Ana Brandusescu, an AI governance expert who has testified before parliamentary committees and is a PhD candidate at McGill University, argued the federal government should “refuse” to deal with the company. She noted that Palantir’s services have also [reportedly been used](https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-immigrationos-palantir-ai-track-immigrants/) by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that has rounded up and arrested alleged illegal immigrants under the Trump administration. The company has also been the focus of [U.S. media reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html) about data privacy concerns. Brandusescu referred to a United Nations [report](https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-of-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025/#_ftn110) published last year that cited media reports linking Palantir software to operations by the Israeli Defense Force in Gaza, as well as how Palantir chief executive officer Alex Karp [told a protester](https://www.youtube.com/live/uQCazCId_9o?si=6gPL7IjvfsMMnM6Q&t=5070) heckling him at a speech last year that his company’s technology is being used to kill “mostly terrorists” in the region. Palantir — which has [said](https://www.palantir.com/assets/xrfr7uokpv1b/29IHCTisO8v2pofVMrxtnX/7e91f4f393074f69ae047d01eaebabce/Palantir_Human_Rights_Policy.pdf) it is committed to human rights, privacy, civil liberties and other “fundamental rights wherever we work” — did not respond to questions from the Star this week. “I’m seeing Palantir infiltrate Canada in a way that we’ve just ignored it, and we keep ignoring it,” Brandusescu said. The company’s CEO co-authored a book last year, “The Technological Republic,” which Palantir summarized in a [lengthy social media post](https://x.com/PalantirTech/status/2045574398573453312?s=20) in April. The post described the vision in the book as one where Silicon Valley has an “affirmative obligation” to help defend the U.S. and crack down on violence crime. It also said the development of AI “weapons” is inevitable, along with “new era of deterrence” based on powerful AI rather than atomic bombs. The book also argued for the benefits of “American power” in prolonging peace since the Second World War, and called the “neutering” the German and Japanese militaries after that conflict an “overcorrection” that “must be undone.” Other points include the argument that some cultures are superior to others, and that the U.S. and other Western countries should “resist the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism.” **Error!** Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. [login now](javascript:void(0);). If you want to become subscriber, please [click here](/subscribe) You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our [terms of use](https://notices.torstar.com/main_terms_of_use_daily_and_community_brands_EN/) and [privacy policy](https://notices.torstar.com/privacy-policy/index.html). This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google [privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy ) and [terms of service](https://policies.google.com/terms ) apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our [newsletter page](/newsletters).