Building Inclusive AI For Canada’s Innovation Economy
QT Inclusive AI brings communities, professionals, and organizations together to build the tools, standards, and practices needed to ensure artificial intelligence is developed responsibly and works for everyone.
Why Inclusive AI Matters Now
Artificial intelligence is transforming how we work, hire, build products, and make decisions. But technology reflects the people, data, and assumptions behind it.
When communities are excluded from the design of technology, the results are predictable: biased systems, broken trust, missed talent, and weaker innovation.
QT Inclusive AI exists to help close that gap.
The QT Inclusive AI Initiative
QT Inclusive AI is QueerTech’s national initiative to advance inclusive and trustworthy AI across Canada’s technology ecosystem.
The initiative brings together:
- research and national insights
- training and learning opportunities
- practical tools and frameworks
- community participation
- partnerships across industry, government, and civil society
Together, these efforts help ensure that inclusion is built into how AI systems are designed, developed, and deployed.
QT Inclusive AI strengthens QueerTech’s role across the ecosystem — connecting professionals, companies, and communities working to build technology that serves everyone.
The numbers show the gap
fewer than
1 in 10
organizations have comprehensive bias testing
and over
50%
lack inclusion policies
Who QT Inclusive AI Serves
As artificial intelligence becomes more widely used across products, workplaces, and digital services, organizations are increasingly looking for ways to build and deploy AI responsibly.
Many teams want to address bias and strengthen accountability but often lack:
- practical tools to identify and test for bias
- training for teams building and deploying AI systems
- governance frameworks to guide responsible adoption
Without these foundations, organizations face real risks — including unintended discrimination, loss of user trust, and growing regulatory expectations.
QT Inclusive AI helps organizations close this gap by providing the tools, learning opportunities, and collaborative frameworks needed to build AI systems that are fair, accountable, and trusted.
Our Impact Goals
QT Inclusive AI is working to create measurable change across Canada’s technology ecosystem.
The initiative aims to engage more than 4,000 people across Canada through learning programs, community dialogues, practical tools, and ecosystem partnerships — with a focus on corporate leaders, technology practitioners, nonprofit leaders, and community members shaping the future of AI.
People across Canada engaged
What We’re Working Toward
Build inclusive AI literacy
Equip teams across product, HR, and leadership with the knowledge to understand bias and risk across the AI lifecycle.
Set standards for accountability
Develop shared benchmarks and practical governance approaches that support responsible AI adoption.
Turn inclusion into practice
Create tools, assessments, and frameworks that make inclusive AI measurable and actionable.
Lead Canada’s inclusive innovation movement
Connect industry, community, and policymakers working toward a stronger, more inclusive technology ecosystem.
Foster collaboration and peer learning
Create spaces where companies, researchers, and communities share knowledge and build solutions together.
Build inclusive AI literacy
Equip teams across product, HR, and leadership with the knowledge to understand bias and risk across the AI lifecycle.
Set standards for accountability
Develop shared benchmarks and practical governance approaches that support responsible AI adoption.
Turn inclusion into practice
Create tools, assessments, and frameworks that make inclusive AI measurable and actionable.
Lead Canada’s inclusive innovation movement
Connect industry, community, and policymakers working toward a stronger, more inclusive technology ecosystem.
Foster collaboration and peer learning
Create spaces where companies, researchers, and communities share knowledge and build solutions together.
How QT Inclusive AI Works
QT Inclusive AI activates through five connected pillars to make inclusion measurable and actionable.
What we’re building
Coming soon to this page
You’ll find free toolkits, checklists, assessment tools, and our national report here.
How to Participate
AI Developers and Product Teams
Because bias can appear at any stage of the AI lifecycle — from problem framing to deployment.
Engage in learning opportunities, use practical tools and frameworks for responsible AI, and bring inclusive perspectives into how AI systems are designed, tested, and deployed.
HR & People Leaders
Because AI is increasingly used in hiring, talent systems, and workforce analytics.
Engage with learning opportunities, join conversations on responsible AI adoption, explore more equitable approaches to AI-enabled talent systems, and help ensure workplace technologies are fair, transparent, and accountable.
The QueerTech Community
Because Queer and Trans lived experience strengthens how technology is designed and deployed.
Participate in learning sessions, roundtables, and community dialogue, connect with peers across the ecosystem, and share insights that help shape a more inclusive AI ecosystem.
For Nonprofit & Community Leaders
Because communities most affected by technology should help shape how it’s built.
Bring community knowledge and advocacy perspectives into dialogue, share lived and organizational experience, and help guide AI development so it better reflects the needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
Why QueerTech is Doing this Work
For more than a decade, QueerTech has focused on improving outcomes for 2SLGBTQIA+ people in technology — increasing access, participation, and leadership.
But today the conversation must go further.
Technology itself now influences human outcomes at scale.
AI systems shape what information people see, who gets hired, and how services are delivered.
That means the work of equity in tech must include the technology itself.
If tech isn’t safe for everyone, it isn’t safe.
Get Involved
QT Inclusive AI is just getting started.
Over the coming months we’ll be releasing:
- national research and insights
- open-access toolkits and frameworks
- assessments and governance resources
- learning opportunities and roundtables
Whether you're a company, professional, partner, or community leader — there’s a role for you in shaping more inclusive AI.