Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Queen’s University are partnering to design and build a sovereign, secure, sustainable, high-performance supercomputing system that keeps Canadian data and intellectual property in Canadian hands.
The two universities signed a Memorandum of Understanding, seizing the opportunity to combine their unparalleled national expertise to deliver world-leading high-performance supercomputing and services to academia, government, and industry.
Dugan O’Neil, vice president of research and innovation at SFU, explains: “Canada needs secure, world-class computing infrastructure to lead in the next generation of artificial intelligence.
“By partnering with Queen’s, we bring together the expertise, talent and national facilities needed for a sovereign platform that Canadians can trust.”
Increasing need for high-performance supercomputing
AI supercomputers are powerful engines that train AI models, analyze large amounts of information, and support innovation in areas such as healthcare, clean energy, defense, manufacturing, dual-use technology, and public safety.
As the demand for AI grows, so does the need for powerful computing infrastructure to keep data safe and secure within Canada’s borders.
SFU and Queen’s bring deeply complementary experiences to this production. Both universities now operate trusted public high-performance computing platforms that support some of Canada’s most cutting-edge AI projects, including projects focused on critical infrastructure, life sciences, and next-generation technologies.
SFU and Queens experience in HPC
SFU is a world leader in supercomputing and AI research, operating Canada’s largest public supercomputing system and supporting more than 24,000 researchers and industry partners across the country.
The University has agreements with companies across Canada to meet future supercomputing infrastructure needs.
Queen’s University is the only university in Canada with researchers who have helped design and deploy some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, including systems that rank among the world’s top 10 in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
“Queen’s University is pleased to partner with Simon Fraser University to help strengthen Canada’s sovereign and sustainable AI supercomputing capabilities,” said Nancy Ross, vice-principal for research at Queen’s University.
“Bringing together complementary expertise in high-performance computing and AI, this collaboration will help develop talent and train the next generation of Canadian professionals.”
Building on Canada’s Sovereignty Strategy
This partnership aligns with the Government of Canada’s Sovereign AI Computing Strategy to build state-of-the-art public high-performance supercomputing infrastructure and mobilize private sector investment.
As part of this strategy, Canada is investing in new AI supercomputing systems through the AI Sovereign Computing Infrastructure Program.
SFU and Queen’s will jointly apply for the program, which is expected to begin in 2026.
“Canada’s Sovereign AI Computing Strategy is a huge opportunity to create the future of world-class supercomputing infrastructure right here in Canada,” said James Pelletier, SFU Director of Research Computing.
“By partnering with our colleagues at Queen’s, we can bring together deep expertise in high-performance computing and a secure, ready-to-deploy site to support a true national resource.”
He added, “This AI infrastructure will help researchers tackle important challenges, from personalized medicine and health outcomes to green technologies to combat climate change.”
Strengthening Canada’s digital sovereignty
Together, this partnership between SFU and Queen’s aims to accelerate Canada’s leadership in AI, attract global talent, strengthen the nation’s digital sovereignty, and ensure Canadian researchers and businesses have the tools they need to compete globally.
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