Canarie - At a Glance

CANARIE has deployed one of the world’s largest and fastest networks dedicated to cutting-edge research, education and innovation. Over 19,000 km of fibre-optic cable link Canada’s most curious and creative minds with those of colleagues across the country and around the world. CANARIE additionally manages a range of funding programs that advance digital infrastructure in Canada.

An Innovation Game-Changer – Critical to a Thriving Digital Economy

CANARIE has changed the way Canadians research and innovate. Since CANARIE was established in 1993, Canadian researchers and innovators have been able to access a world of leading-edge digital resources and tools, enabling them to engage in global research collaborations that address our most pressing and complex problems.

CANARIE’s advanced digital infrastructure is the launch pad for research and innovation initiatives that build a strong foundation for Canada’s digital economy. CANARIE has a proud history of investing in leading Canadian innovators – like Research in Motion’s pilot for a wireless network with a “cellphone” for the deaf, or Flintbox’s technology for managing digital content and copyright licensing.

Today, one million researchers, scientists and students at over 1,100 Canadian institutions, including universities, colleges, research institutes, hospitals, and government laboratories have access to the same phenomenal advanced network capabilities without the disparity or restrictions created by their geographic location.

While there are 12 provincial Optical Regional Advanced Networks (ORANs) in Canada, those research communities could not connect to each other without the Government of Canada-funded national CANARIE digital infrastructure. CANARIE is also Canada’s gateway to the more than 100 advanced research networks in more than 80 countries around the world, linking Canadian researchers and innovators with their international peers.

Why Canada Needs CANARIE

CANARIE is unlike any standard network anywhere in Canada. CANARIE’s core capacity enables data transfer speeds that at-home movie downloaders can only dream of – 10 billion bits per second across the core network and 100 billion bits per second in key corridors. That’s 60,000 times faster than the fastest current commercial Internet offerings.

CANARIE’s ultra-high speed, capacity, and reliability deliver high performance, enabling transmission of and access to high-denition two-way streaming video, audio, complex 3D models and simulations, and ultra-complex 3D images from molecules to galaxies.

These are fundamental, mission-critical requirements for researchers, innovators and educators today and tomorrow:

• Researchers today need advanced network capabilities to share and manage record amounts of data, and to develop sophisticated tools and programs which together solve problems that are growing in complexity
• Researchers use the network to access complex “big science” instruments such as telescopes, lasers, particle accelerators, camera or sensor arrays which are often located in other provinces or countries, deep in the ocean or in space.
• Educators use the network to break down classroom walls and open the door to a world of digital resources, from real-time images of the ocean floor to 3D models of the human heart
• Innovators need the network’s advanced capacity and speed to develop and test leading-edge information and communications technology products and services

CANARIE – Fostering Home-Grown Research and Innovation

CANARIE has grown into the second-largest, fastest research network in the world. This leading-edge digital infrastructure enables Canadians to find innovative solutions to difficult problems.

Here’s a small sample of organizations that rely on the CANARIE Network to make exciting advances in their fields:

• Advanced Man-Machine Interface Laboratory (AB) investigates how to enhance human abilities by adapting computer systems to individual needs
• Greenhouse Gas Technology Centre (SK) researches greenhouse gas causes and effects and optimal energy strategies
• Winnipeg Virtual Reality Centre (MB) enables industries to simulate new technologies before they’re built
• The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (ON) explores the world around us at the most fundamental level
• Institute for Nutrisciences and Health (PEI) develops natural bioactives for health and wellness

The federal government’s investment in CANARIE keeps Canada at the forefront of digital research and innovation.