A U.S. export-control directive forced Anthropic last month to suspend access to its two most advanced models for customers worldwide. The U.S. government lifted the controls last week, restoring the flagship Fable model globally, while the most powerful version remains limited to government-approved organizations. The events have positioned the U.S. government as the effective regulator of new frontier AI models, dictating who has access, when and on what terms. The resolution of the Anthropic standoff entrenches that role, since the company agreed to provide designated U.S. agencies with early access to future frontier models before public release. The launch of a frontier model now involves negotiation with the U.S. government rather than a simple commercial release. The U.S. can switch AI access on and off at its discretion, and Canada has no assurance or guarantee of access to models critical to addressing cybersecurity risks and maintaining economic competitiveness. Canada’s AI strategy supports national AI champion Cohere Inc. and backs open models, but the country is not going to outspend or outbuild the U.S.