The Government of Canada announced plans to set up a C $890 million state-of-the-art, Canadian-owned AI supercomputing systems aimed at giving Canadian researchers and companies access to leading-edge computing capabilities.
Under the program AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program (SCIP), Canada will support the design, construction and operation of large-scale, AI-optimized, high-performance computing infrastructure within Canada, with funds approximately C$890m as part of the larger five-year Sovereign AI Strategy of the North American country.
For this purpose, the Canadian government has called for applications under the AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program with a deadline of June 1, 2026 for Canada based research, academic groups, NPOs, and post-secondary institutions.
“These systems will form a core part of Canada’s digital backbone, enabling breakthroughs in areas like health care, energy, advanced manufacturing and scientific discovery. This will strengthen Canada’s global competitiveness, support world-leading research and ensure secure, reliable access to critical digital infrastructure for Canadian innovators,” read a statement from the Government of Canada on Wednesday.
This system is expected to become a key pillar of Canada’s digital backbone, supporting innovation in sectors such as health care, energy, manufacturing and scientific research.
According to Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, the focus is now on expanding compute capacity domestically so that Canadian talent can move faster and transform ideas into real-world applications. The government recognizes the importance of having access to large computer resources in order to be globally competitive in the area of AI.
This program has two main components: (1) the Infrastructure Build Layer, which is responsible for designing and operating the supercomputing facility and (2) the National Support Layer, which will enable researchers and businesses to access and use the supercomputing system through training, support, and assistance in integrating the service into their applications.
According to officials, this program is intended not only to accelerate innovation in Canada, but also to protect national interests by keeping data, intellectual property, and advanced technology within Canadian borders.
