There are roughly 11,000 data centres in the world. Canada has about 300. The United States has 5,000 and that number is growing fast.

Canada is putting real money behind sovereign AI compute. But what does data sovereignty look like on the ground?

In this episode of Disruptors, John Stackhouse visits Global Relay’s data centre in North Vancouver to see the physical side of the cloud: cooling systems, backup power, biometric access, data halls, and AI racks.

Global Relay Chief Product Officer Sahar Kayhani explains how the company manages communications data for highly regulated industries and why the infrastructure behind that data is becoming as important as the data itself.

Warren Roy, Global Relay’s founder and CEO, joins the conversation to discuss why the company chose to build its own cloud, and share his thoughts on what Canada needs to do to develop more technology companies rooted here.

From Ottawa to Orbit: Two Views on Canada’s Big Day

Disruptors, now in its 10th season, has become your front-row seat to Canada’s innovation story—200+ episodes exploring the people, ideas, and technologies reshaping Canada’s future.  

Each episode, hosted by John Stackhouse, SVP, Office of the CEO at Royal Bank of Canada—and former Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail—cuts through the hype and focuses on what you need to know.

This season, we’re leaning into urgency: the global economy is shifting, geopolitics are noisy, and Canada needs to respond. You’ll hear from founders, investors, scientists, operators, and policy leaders at the forefront. Listen for a clearer understanding of the tech and innovation shaping Canada and the world—and practical insights to help you make sense of what’s coming next.