TL;DR:
- Quebec has a dynamic network of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) communities with regular meetups like the Linux-Meetup held every first Tuesday of the month for over 21 years8
- Montréal-Python is organizing its 114th meetup on May 22, 2025, demonstrating the vitality and longevity of Quebec tech communities9
- Hackfest 2025, Canada's largest hacking event, will be held October 17-18 in Quebec City, with an expected 1,800+ attendees413
- The City of Montreal has formally committed to prioritizing free software purchases in its tenders to break free from "vendor lock-in"7
- The Open Hardware Summit 2024 in Montreal (May 3-4) marks the growing interest in open hardware, complementary to the software ecosystem
A Community Ecosystem in Full Swing
Quebec stands out for its particularly active ecosystem in the free software domain. This community, far from being monolithic, is made up of a mosaic of specialized groups, each contributing in its own way to the advancement and promotion of FOSS. FACiL, one of the flagship organizations of this movement, is celebrating 21 years of Linux-Meetup in Quebec this year with a special event on September 21, 2024 3. These two decades testify to Quebecers' lasting commitment to the free software philosophy.
The Linux meetups in Quebec, held every first Tuesday of the month, are a pillar of this ecosystem. These events bring together "passionate people who have used and deployed free software for many years in businesses, schools and public administrations"8. What makes these meetups unique is their accessibility, being "free and open to all (from beginners to experts)" and bringing together "people from various groups interested in free software: managers, IT directors, system administrators, programmers and users"8.
Specialized Communities and Major Events
Quebec's free software ecosystem is built on various specialized communities. These include DebianQuebec, Ubuntu Québec, LinuQ, Club Linux Atomic, CLibre, and many other organizations spread across the province2. These groups don't just promote the use of free software; they actively contribute to its development.
Montréal-Python perfectly represents this vitality with its 114th meetup planned for May 22, 2025. The organization offers "exciting presentations" in a structured format combining networking and knowledge sharing9. The community's success is built on solid support, including "Euclid AI, AQIII, Savoir-Faire Linux" and several other organizations9.
Hackfest, which bills itself as "Canada's largest hacking event," illustrates the scale that Quebec initiatives can achieve in this field. The 2025 edition, titled "In the Shell," will be held at the Quebec City Convention Centre and expects "over 1,800 attendees"13. This event offers "two days of technical conferences on security and hacking and 4 days of training, developed for Quebec in French"13.
Institutional Commitment to Free Software
Quebec's free software ecosystem extends beyond volunteer and enthusiast communities. Public institutions also play a crucial role. The City of Montreal has taken a clear stance in favour of free software, committing to "prioritizing the purchase of free software over commercial software that imposes limited licences over several years"7. François Croteau, head of smart city, information technology and innovation, emphasizes that "we need to develop programming expertise. You can't benefit from this type of software without participating in its development, so we need to invest in free solutions"7.
The Quebec government is not to be outdone, with initiatives like IGO (Infrastructure GĂ©omatique Ouverte), "the first free geomatics software using a free licence in French produced by the Quebec public administration"11. This project, the result of collaboration between the INSPQ and the Ministry of Public Safety, perfectly illustrates the collaborative approach inherent to the free software movement.
More recently, the Quebec government approved "the priority IT resource project portfolio" for 2024-2025, consisting of 33 projects aimed at "prioritizing and accelerating government action in digital transformation"16.
Toward a Convergence of Free Software Communities
The Open Hardware Summit held May 3-4, 2024 in Montreal represents an interesting evolution of Quebec's free software ecosystem. This event, which explores "all the ways 'open' exists," reflects the broadening of the free concept beyond software alone5. The presence of Danielle Boyer as keynote speaker, working on "robots to revitalize Indigenous languages," also demonstrates the diversity of applications and the potential social impact of free technologies5.
This convergence between free software, open hardware and social concerns represents a strong trend that could shape the future of Quebec's free software ecosystem in the years to come.
Blue Fox's Take
At Blue Fox, we observe with enthusiasm the vitality of Quebec's free software ecosystem. These communities represent not only technical interest groups, but genuine drivers of innovation, inclusion and digital sovereignty.
We firmly believe that Quebec's digital future lies with these communities that embody the values of sharing, collaboration and technological independence. Our involvement will intensify in the coming months to support these initiatives aligned with our values.
#FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #TechCommunities #QuebecInnovation #DigitalSovereignty #DigitalTransition
Sources:
FACIL | pour l'appropriation collective de l'informatique libre
Rencontres Linux au Québec - Meetup
Montréal-Python - Meetup
Hackfest 2025 | Talks & Villages (October 17 - 18) | CTF (October 14 - 18)
The 2024 Open Hardware Summit - Hackster.io
Montréal précise son engagement pour le logiciel libre - ZDNET
L'INSPQ, pionnier d'IGO, premier logiciel libre du gouvernement du Québec en géomatique
Le gouvernement du Québec identifie 33 projets à réaliser en priorité - CNW