Canada is at a crossroad in the development of its Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) strategy of which Research Data Management (RDM) a key component. Federal funding and policies, emerging and maturing RDM platforms and services, and evolving collaborative relationships among stakeholders, are all influencing decisions and directions. The confluence of these factors presents a 'data first' for Canada – the real and imminent prospect of a cohesive, national, researcher- and

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... ed suite of platforms, services, resources, and governance to support research data stewardship in Canada. This session will situate participants at this crossroad, describing the landscape and the decisions faced by the Canadian RDM community and stakeholder partners. The collaborative work of CARL Portage and Research Data Canada will be highlighted, along with scenarios for the evolution toward new national organizations responsible for RDM, ARC (advanced research computing), Research Software, Network, and Cyber-security. This is an exciting time for Canadian data stewards as we plan for and implement the future of RDM and DRI in Canada at a national scale.