Parti Québécois proposes legislation on provincial digital sovereignty

Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon responds to reporters questions at a news conference at the legislature in Quebec City, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025 . (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

A few days after controversy erupted over digital data on the new daycare registration portal, the Parti Québécois (PQ) is urging the Legault government to introduce legislation to ensure Quebec’s digital sovereignty.

PQ spokesperson for cybersecurity and digital issues, Pascal Paradis, believes that the Legault government has “abdicated” on this issue by entrusting Quebec children’s data to an American platform.

Radio-Canada reported earlier this week that the new daycare registration portal, which replaces Place 0-5, is hosted by the American company Salesforce.

The previous portal was hosted by the Quebec company InMédia.

The public broadcaster cited anonymous sources within the ministry who expressed concern about the data of children and their parents.

The PQ wants the government to implement measures to ‘rely on local companies to host sensitive data belonging to Quebecers.’

The party has also committed to introducing a ‘digital sovereignty policy’ if it forms the government in 2026.

“We cannot continue down this path,” Paradis said in a statement. “It is out of the question for us to be dependent on foreign suppliers. The concept of digital sovereignty and the principles of protecting the sensitive data of Quebecers and the state must be enshrined in our laws and in the responsibilities of the minister under the Cybersecurity and Digital Act,” he argued.

For its part, the Legault government has assured that the data is secure.

Cybersecurity and Digital Technology Minister Gilles Bélanger pointed out that it was possible for Quebec to encrypt sensitive data, host it in Canada and hold the cryptographic key.

“Quebec is truly a leader in protecting its citizens’ data,” he assured the National Assembly earlier this week.

His colleague, Minister of Families Kateri Champagne-Jourdain, also pointed out that only two suppliers met the criteria of the call for tenders.

“I can assure you that all data (...) is stored in Canada,” she said at a press conference on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 28, 2025.