Residency
Canadian application and database hosting
Application services and databases can be designed for Canadian-hosted environments when Canadian residency is a project requirement.
Digital sovereignty
Digital sovereignty starts with architecture.
Underlabs has operated Canadian-hosted application infrastructure since 2019.
Precise scope: Client systems may operate across different jurisdictions depending on their requirements and existing architecture. For sovereignty-sensitive projects, Underlabs can design or migrate workloads to Canadian-hosted environments.
The practical definition
Data residency is one control, not the whole answer.
Knowing where data is stored matters. So do the jurisdictions, suppliers, operational dependencies, recovery paths, and technical formats that determine whether an organization can keep operating and change providers.
The Government of Canada’s digital sovereignty framework describes sovereignty as the ability to exercise autonomy over digital infrastructure, data, and intellectual property. It explicitly extends beyond storage location to operational resilience, system integrity, and institutional control.
No absolute-sovereignty claim. Underlabs does not describe Canadian data residency as complete legal or operational independence. Suppliers and technologies can still introduce foreign jurisdiction, concentration, or continuity risks.
1. What Underlabs does today
Current, bounded practices.
These statements describe current, bounded practices. They are not presented as certifications and do not turn project-specific controls into universal promises.
- Montréal-based engineering
- Ateliers Underlabs Inc. is based in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
- Canadian-hosted infrastructure since 2019
- Underlabs has operated Canadian-hosted application infrastructure since 2019. Canadian-hosted managed application and data environments are available today.
- Dedicated software across the application stack
- Underlabs builds dedicated mobile, desktop, web, backend, and AI-enabled software. Where appropriate, dedicated application and administration software can communicate directly with client backend infrastructure rather than requiring core operations to depend entirely on third-party SaaS platforms.
- Website data practices are documented separately
- Our website privacy policy identifies the contact-form, hosting, consent, and analytics providers visible in the current website implementation.
2. What varies by project
Residency is determined system by system.
Client systems may operate across different jurisdictions depending on their requirements, existing architecture and selected providers. Hosting jurisdiction, database location, external APIs, analytics, AI providers, subprocessors and backup infrastructure are therefore assessed on a project-by-project basis.
- Hosting and data
- Application hosting and database residency can be Canadian or foreign depending on the current system and its requirements. Canadian residency should be specified as a project requirement, not inferred from the Underlabs company location.
- External services
- APIs, analytics, communications tools, and other subprocessors can introduce additional jurisdictions and dependencies. They must be reviewed as part of the system boundary.
- Backups
- Backup location, retention and recovery architecture depend on the selected infrastructure and project requirements. Where Canadian residency is required, backup residency is included in the deployment requirements and verified for the selected environment.
- AI processing
- AI provider and processing jurisdiction vary by project. Commercial model services may process information outside Canada, even when the main application is hosted in Canada.
3. Sovereignty-sensitive projects
Controls selected for the actual risk.
The following capabilities can be scoped by project. Availability depends on the system, supplier chain, operating model, budget, and contractual requirements. They are not universal controls across every Underlabs engagement.
Migration
Move foreign-hosted workloads
Existing applications can be assessed and migrated to Canadian-hosted environments when their architecture and dependencies permit it.
Control
Private, on-premises, or customer-controlled deployment
Systems can be deployed into private-cloud, on-premises, or customer-controlled environments when greater infrastructure control is required.
Operations
Reduced SaaS dependency
Dedicated administration software and direct backend integration can reduce unnecessary dependence on third-party SaaS platforms.
Portability
Portable architecture and open standards
Where appropriate, standard interfaces, portable data formats, documented APIs, and replaceable components can reduce proprietary lock-in.
AI
Provider-flexible inference
AI processing is selected according to project requirements. Underlabs supports commercial model providers and can architect sensitive workloads for private, locally deployed, or Canadian-hosted inference where required.
Continuity
Data export and vendor exit
Export formats, recovery assumptions, replacement dependencies, and migration procedures can be defined so a provider change does not require rebuilding the entire product.
Access
Canadian-personnel-only operations
Where agreed, feasible, and supported by the full supplier chain, Canadian-personnel-only operational access can be specified as a project requirement.
Applications should not be unnecessarily inseparable from a single AI or infrastructure provider. Provider abstraction still requires engineering and testing, but it preserves practical migration choices as privacy, performance, cost, or jurisdictional requirements change.
Built in Montréal. Canadian hosting available. Sovereignty-ready by design.
Start with requirements
Define what must remain under your control.
Share the data sensitivity, procurement constraints, current suppliers, and continuity requirements. We will help separate mandatory controls from preferences and unsupported assumptions.
Discuss your project