Quebec partners with Canadian artificial intelligence company Cohere

France-Élaine Duranceau, Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital Affairs, on December 12, 2025, at the National Assembly in Quebec City. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

The Quebec government is partnering with Canadian company Cohere to explore opportunities to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the public sector.

According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the agreement calls for “exchanges, workshops and discussions aimed at better understanding the possibilities, limitations and conditions for the controlled deployment of AI in public administration.”

Quebec said it chose to work with Cohere in part because it is a Canadian company with offices in Montreal.

The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Toronto.

According to the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital Affairs, France-Élaine Duranceau, AI is an “essential” tool for modernizing the government.

The government, she explained, has a responsibility to regulate and integrate it in a “thoughtful, secure and sovereign” manner.

“By engaging with a leading Canadian player like Cohere, we ensure we make informed choices, consistent with our vision of digital sovereignty,” she stated in writing.

Quebec clarified that the agreement, which is intended to be “exploratory and structured,” has no financial implications and does not constitute a contractual commitment for the government.

This is Cohere’s first collaboration agreement with a provincial government.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 9, 2026.