| name | discover-datasets |
| description | Search, browse, and explore the 436+ datasets on Montréal's open data portal.
Find the right dataset for any question about the city.
/ Rechercher, parcourir et explorer les 436+ jeux de données du portail
de données ouvertes de Montréal. Trouver le bon jeu de données pour toute
question sur la ville.
|
| triggers | ["find dataset, search data, what data, which dataset, open data, catalog","trouver jeu de données, chercher données, quelles données, catalogue"] |
Discover Datasets / Découvrir les jeux de données
Purpose / Objectif
When a user asks a question about Montréal, the first step is finding the right dataset. This skill teaches you to search the catalog effectively.
Lorsqu'un utilisateur pose une question sur Montréal, la première étape est de trouver le bon jeu de données.
Step 1: Keyword Search / Recherche par mot-clé
Endpoint: https://donnees.montreal.ca/api/3/action/package_search
curl -s 'https://donnees.montreal.ca/api/3/action/package_search?q=arbres&rows=5' | python3 -m json.tool
Tips for effective searches:
- Search in French first — most metadata is in French
- Try synonyms:
vélo OR cyclable OR bicyclette
- Use the
notes field for data dictionary details
- Use facets to narrow:
?q=*:*&facet=true&facet.field=["organization","tags"]&rows=0
Keyword translation table for common queries:
| English | French (search term) | Example Dataset Slug |
|---|
| Trees | arbres | arbres |
| Bus / Transit | transport, autobus, bus | stm-bus-temps-reel-gtfs-realtime |
| Bike sharing | vélo, bixi | bixi-etat-des-stations |
| Building permits | permis construction | permis-construction |
| Budget | budget | budget |
| Crime | criminalité, actes criminels | actes-criminels |
| Road closures | entraves, travaux | entraves-travaux |
| Parks | parcs | parcs |
| Elections | élections, vote | bureaux-vote |
| Water quality | eau, qualité | carte-du-reseau-de-suivi-du-milieu-aquatique-rsma |
| Snow removal | déneigement | 311-montreal-info-deneigement-alertes |
| Fire stations | pompiers, casernes | casernes-pompiers |
| Libraries | bibliothèques | bibliotheques-montreal-statistiques |
| Public art | art public | art-public-information-sur-les-oeuvres-de-la-collection-municipale |
| Road conditions | chaussées, condition | condition-chaussees-reseau-routier |
| Bike paths | pistes cyclables, réseau cyclable | condition-chaussees-reseau-cyclable |
| Contracts | contrats | contrats-comite-executif |
| Air quality | qualité air | rsqa-polluants |
| Dog parks | chiens, canin | parcs-canins |
Step 2: Browse by Category / Parcourir par catégorie
Datasets are organized into thematic groups:
curl -s 'https://donnees.montreal.ca/api/3/action/group_list?all_fields=true' | python3 -m json.tool
Main categories (groups):
- Environnement, ressources naturelles et énergie — Trees, air, water, green spaces
- Gouvernement et finances — Budget, contracts, elections, officials
- Infrastructures — Roads, buildings, water mains, geobase
- Justice, sécurité et urgences — Crime, fire, 311
- Économie et entreprises — Permits, businesses, commercial activity
- Transport — STM, BIXI, road closures, bike paths
- Société et culture — Heritage, public art, libraries
- Santé — Clinics, public health data
- Éducation et recherche — Schools, libraries, research
- Agriculture et alimentation — Community gardens, food inspections
- Tourisme, sports et loisirs — Parks, pools, events
- Politiques sociales — Housing, social services
Step 3: Browse by Organization / Parcourir par organisme
curl -s 'https://donnees.montreal.ca/api/3/action/package_search?q=organization:societe-de-transport-de-montreal&rows=10'
| Organization | Focus | Datasets |
|---|
ville-de-montreal | Everything municipal | ~383 |
societe-de-transport-de-montreal | Bus & metro | 7 |
bixi | Bike sharing | 2 |
agence-de-mobilite-durable-montreal | Parking & mobility | 2 |
211-grand-montreal | Community resources | 1 |
regroupement-eco-quartiers | Eco-neighborhood programs | 2 |
Step 4: Inspect a Dataset / Inspecter un jeu de données
Once you find a promising dataset, get its full details:
curl -s 'https://donnees.montreal.ca/api/3/action/package_show?id=arbres' | python3 -m json.tool
Key things to check:
notes — Description and data dictionary (often very detailed, in French)resources[] — Available files and their formatsresources[].datastore_active — Can you query it via DataStore? (true = yes)update_frequency — How fresh is the data? (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly)metadata_modified — When was it last updated?territoire[] — Which boroughs are covered? (borough codes like AHU, CDN, VIM)methodologie — How the data was collected
To see a resource's fields (columns):
curl -s 'https://donnees.montreal.ca/api/3/action/datastore_info?id=64e28fe6-ef37-437a-972d-d1d3f1f7d891' | python3 -m json.tool
Or peek at the first few rows:
curl -s 'https://donnees.montreal.ca/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=64e28fe6-ef37-437a-972d-d1d3f1f7d891&limit=2'
Step 5: When You Can't Find It / Quand vous ne trouvez pas
- Try broader French terms. The catalog is predominantly French.
- Search by tag:
?q=tags:Transport
- List all datasets:
package_list returns all 436 slugs — scan for relevant names.
- Check Données Québec: Some Montréal data may only be on
donneesquebec.ca.
- Check external partners:
- STM developer portal:
stm.info/en/about/developers
- BIXI GBFS feed:
gbfs.velobixi.com/gbfs/gbfs.json
- Info-Travaux (road closures): Check for
entraves-travaux dataset
- The data may not exist as open data. Some city services are not yet in the open data catalog.
Quick Question → Dataset Mapping / Question rapide → Jeu de données
| User Question | Dataset to Use | Resource Type |
|---|
| "When is the next bus?" | stm-bus-temps-reel-gtfs-realtime | GTFS-RT |
| "How many trees in my borough?" | arbres | DataStore (CSV) |
| "Any construction on my street?" | entraves-travaux | DataStore |
| "Where can I park?" | Check agence-de-mobilite-durable | Various |
| "What's the crime rate?" | actes-criminels | DataStore (CSV) |
| "How much did the city spend?" | budget | DataStore (XLSX) |
| "Are there BIXI bikes nearby?" | bixi-etat-des-stations | GBFS (live) |
| "Where are the fire stations?" | casernes-pompiers | DataStore |
| "Any parks near me?" | parcs | GeoJSON |
| "Building permit status?" | permis-construction | DataStore |
| "Road conditions?" | condition-chaussees-reseau-routier | DataStore |
| "Where's the nearest library?" | bibliotheques-montreal-statistiques | DataStore |
| "Public art nearby?" | art-public-... | DataStore |
| "Snow removal schedule?" | 311-montreal-info-deneigement-alertes | API |
| "Air quality today?" | rsqa-polluants | DataStore |
| "Election results?" | resultats-elections + bureaux-vote | DataStore |
Provenance / Provenance
Scope limitation: This skill searches the donnees.montreal.ca portal only (436 datasets). Other government data about Montréal exists on separate platforms — see the transit skill (STM developer portal, BIXI GBFS), the provincial skill (Données Québec, SOQUIJ, DGEQ), and the federal skill (Statistics Canada) for additional sources.
Related Skills / Compétences connexes
understand-ckan — Full CKAN API referencequery-dataset — Build queries against DataStorebilingual-handling — Navigate French/English contentborough-context — Map borough names and codes
