It will move through prices, factories, hospitals, data centers, defense systems, and the hidden machinery of ordinary life.
Canada cannot control China’s ambitions, Taiwan’s choices, or America’s reliability. It can decide what capacity to build before the emergency arrives.
If Canada waits, it will buy chips from whoever controls the bottleneck.
If it acts now, it can help make sure the knowledge that built Taiwan’s semiconductor miracle has somewhere else to stand.
Bibliography
1. International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. “Taiwan — Semiconductors including chip design for AI.”
2. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. “TSMC Dedicated IC Foundry Business Model.”
3. ASML. “Our history — Supplying the semiconductor industry”; ASML. “EUV Lithography Systems.”
4. Blanchard, Ben. “Taiwan ‘cautiously optimistic’ about US arms sales, defense minister says.” Reuters, May 19, 2026.
5. Alper, Alexandra, Stephen Nellis, and Fanny Potkin. “Trump prepares to change US CHIPS Act conditions, sources say.” Reuters, February 13, 2025; Alper, Alexandra. “Trump renegotiating Biden-era Chips Act grants, Lutnick says.” Reuters, June 4, 2025.
6. IBM Newsroom. “IBM, Government of Canada, Government of Quebec Sign Agreements to Strengthen Canada’s Semiconductor Industry.” April 26, 2024.
7. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. “Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy.” April 15, 2026.