Open source digital sovereignty: the case for a Canadian national Linux distribution

Purpose The post-2020 global pivot toward digital sovereignty has been accelerated for Canada by a rupture in trust with the USA: 60% of Canadians report they can no longer trust the USA, while the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act §702 grant extraterritorial access to data held by the US-headquartered providers regardless of physical location. Despite this exposure, Canada’s federal government remains structurally dependent on a single US vendor for its foundational software stack: Microsoft Windows controls 58% of Canada’s desktop market, federal Microsoft contracts exceeded C$865m over 10 years and Windows-specific licensing alone is C$108m–C$126m/year. Operating systems remain absent from Canadian sovereignty debates dominated by cloud, AI and 5G. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the strategic autonomy and economic impact of a Canadian national Linux distribution. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops a comparative policy analysis of six state-sponsored Linux distributions (China, Russia, India, France, Germany and South Korea) using a dual total cost of ownership (TCO) + strategic autonomy analytical framework, benchmarked against Canada’s procurement landscape, laws and trade obligations. Findings Conservative net 10-year savings of C$350m–C$965m (net present value at 5% discount rate) are achievable, calibrated against GendBuntu’s documented €500m savings, the Italian Ministry of Defense’s €26m–€29m migration and Ghosh’s 36% public-sector TCO reduction. The proposal generates 10-year return on investments of 700%–4,100% on C$23m–C$43m investment and an internal rate of return of 55%–105%. Originality/value This paper proposes a Canadian Free and Open Systems Foundation (Crown not-for-profit modeled on Germany’s Zentrum für Digitale Souveränität) alongside a three-phase implementation roadmap and five institutionally targeted policy recommendations. The proposal offers a generalizable middle-power template for reconciling digital sovereignty with open multilateralism, applicable to Australia, Japan, South Korea and Nordic states facing parallel dependencies.