Department of National Defence using U.S. cloud services

National Defence spent $4.57 million on Amazon Web Services, another $8 million on Microsoft services and $835,691 on Google services.

Newly released documents show Ottawa has spent almost $1.3 billion on cloud services provided by U.S. companies, with most of the money going to Microsoft — and its uses include what it calls “mission-critical” defence applications.

The information was shared in a government response to a question posed by Conservative MP Todd Doherty. He asked government departments and agencies how much they have spent since 2021 on cloud services provided by Amazon, Microsoft and Google, and to identify which of those cloud services cover critical government functions.

“Amazon Web Services hosts several mission-critical applications that directly support operational readiness and national security,” the response from the Department of National Defence says.

Those applications include systems the Royal Canadian Air Force uses for “aircraft coordination and maintenance, as well as situational awareness tools employed by the Canadian Army,” the department says.

It adds those capabilities are “essential to both domestic operations, such as emergency response, and international engagements.”

National Defence spent $4.57 million on Amazon Web Services, another $8 million on Microsoft services and $835,691 on Google services.

It says Google Cloud “provides advanced artificial intelligence services that enhance operational capabilities across various defence functions,” including real-time language processing, while Microsoft Azure supports the military pay platform and “hosts operational planning tools used by the Canadian Army to manage daily activities and long-term strategic initiatives.”

The government responses included in the document, tabled in the House of Commons this week, offer a snapshot of the extent to which the federal government uses cloud services provided by U.S. companies.