How Québec became a world-class AI powerhouse

The use artificial intelligence (AI) is exploding across the planet as it evolves into an essential tool for a myriad of fields and industries. But to successfully implement the technology into business operations, IT leaders need to surround themselves with global experts while building a state-of-the-art ecosystem.

The place to start looking for such experts in Canada is Québec, the nation’s AI powerhouse. Seventh in the world – that’s where the province ranks in the Global AI Index published by the British firm Tortoise Media, a ranking of the most competitive countries in AI.

[ Lisez la version française : « Comment le Québec est devenu une puissance mondiale en IA | CIO » ]

The 2021 Tortoise study ranks Québec just behind Germany and South Korea and ahead of technological powers such as Israel, Japan, and France. Canada overall comes in fourth place – a remarkable achievement of which Québec is a real driving force.

In December 2021, the Canadian supercluster Scale AI announced that three of its four new research chairs in artificial intelligence would be located in Montréal: AI for urban mobility and logistics at HEC Montréal, data science for retail at McGill University, and data-driven supply chains at Polytechnique Montréal.

How did the province achieve this meteoric rise? According to Tortoise, it’s a combination of three factors: the strength of its basic research, in which Québec ranks fifth among the approximately 60 countries reviewed; successful government investment strategies (sixth); and the emergence of a critical mass of companies (seventh).

Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, IT Leadership