This paper argues that Canada has reached a tipping point in the evolution of its digital governance: the conditions are now in place to move from sectoral intergovernmental cooperation towards a coordinated capacity for action based on public data interoperability and the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).

Building on the precedent set by the 2025 federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) cybersecurity agreement concluded in Kananaskis, the analysis shows that securing systems is only the first step. The full value of digital investments now depends on governments’ ability to enable the secure, governed, and targeted circulation of data across jurisdictions. In this context, interoperability should not be viewed as a technical issue, but as a strategic infrastructure that shapes economic performance, public service delivery, and the public sector’s capacity to anticipate and act.

The paper identifies a structural constraint: despite ambitious strategies and concrete AI use cases, the fragmentation of public data systems limits potential gains and prevents the emergence of system-wide effects. This fragmentation reflects not a technological deficit, but an institutional and governance gap, particularly in terms of trust mechanisms at the FPT level. Drawing on international experience, particularly from the European Union and Australia, the paper demonstrates the feasibility of a federated model based on shared standards, joint governance mechanisms, and targeted mutualization of capabilities, without centralizing data.

On this basis, it introduces a prototype FPT framework agreement designed as an operational foundation for intergovernmental negotiation. The proposal combines guiding principles, governance architecture, technical and legal instruments, and a phased implementation approach. It seeks to reconcile jurisdictional autonomy with collective capacity, notably through mechanisms such as interoperability assessments, regulatory sandboxes, and structured sectoral data-sharing agreements.

The paper concludes that Canada does not face a diagnostic gap, but a coordination imperative. In a global environment shaped by technological dependencies and the growing centrality of data, the ability to organize public data as a federated interoperable architecture is becoming a key determinant of sovereignty, resilience, and long-term prosperity.