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An AI that reflects us starts with data we control.
Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions are playing an increasingly important role in how we search for, create, and access information. Yet their relevance depends on one essential factor: the quality of the data that powers them. If Quebec data is hard to find, poorly structured, or inaccessible, these tools risk making our language, culture, territories, organizations, and realities invisible.
For MTL connect 2026, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) invites businesses, institutions, and creators to tackle a collective challenge: how can we bring together reliable Quebec data to develop useful and high-performing AI solutions while preserving our ability to decide how they are used?
Quebec has a vast wealth of data. BAnQ preserves a significant portion of it. Other datasets are held by public organizations, universities, businesses, cultural institutions, or other actors in Quebec society. To unlock their potential, this data must be discoverable, structured, documented, and mobilized to meet strategic needs.
But BAnQ’s project goes beyond simply preparing datasets. It aims to create an evolving, collective, and ethical ecosystem where organizations can contribute their data to innovation without losing control over it. Traceability will play a central role: it will allow us to track the origin of data, recognize its sources, and ensure respect for the rights of creators. This is an entirely new business model that needs to emerge—one that fosters innovation, transparency, and accountability.
During this masterclass, BAnQ will present initial findings from its discussions with stakeholders, as well as concrete use cases illustrating the potential of this approach. The meeting will also help better understand the needs of organizations, identify collaboration opportunities, and collectively reflect on the implications of such a project.
This large-scale initiative is still in its early stages. It addresses a vital issue for Quebec’s future: its digital sovereignty. In a world where AI systems play an increasingly significant role in the circulation of knowledge, the choices we make today will determine our future ability to protect, represent, and promote who we are.
The first steps are critical: this is when directions, collaborations, and possibilities take shape. Getting involved now means having the opportunity to influence AI development and contribute to building an AI ecosystem rooted in our values, rights, and realities.
Do you have a project, a problem to solve, or a use case to propose? Come start the conversation with BAnQ at MTL connect — and join, from the very beginning, this historic initiative for Quebec’s digital future.
About BAnQ
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) provides all of Quebec’s population with stimulating environments to discover and learn throughout their lives, free of charge.
Online and across its 12 buildings throughout the province, it brings together and shares Quebec’s history and culture while opening windows to knowledge from around the world. Millions of treasures (books, magazines, newspapers, films, music, images, archives, etc.) are accessible to all and carefully preserved for future generations.