CANARIE
CANARIE operates Canada's National Research and Education Network (NREN), providing 400 Gbps national and transatlantic connectivity, cybersecurity services, and federated identity management to over 600 Canadian universities, colleges, research institutes, and hospitals, funded by the Government of Canada.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersOttawa, Canada
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CANARIE does
CANARIE Inc. is a Canadian non-profit corporation, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Ottawa, that designs, delivers, and drives adoption of digital infrastructure for Canada's research and education (R&E) communities. It operates Canada's National Research and Education Network (NREN), a dedicated ultra-high-speed backbone spanning over 40,000 km across all 13 provinces and territories, with domestic capacity scaled to 400 Gbps and a 400 Gbps transatlantic link between Montreal (MOXY exchange point) and Amsterdam (NetherLight). The network carried 699 petabytes of data in 2023, with more than 40% of traffic originating from international connections to approximately 100 global NRENs.
The organization's product portfolio is organized into three programs: (1) the CANARIE Network, providing high-capacity connectivity and global exchange services; (2) the Cybersecurity Initiatives Program (CIP), including the CanSSOC federated SOC pilot, threat intelligence, strategic and technical assessments, and alert synchronization for the R&E sector; and (3) Identity & Access Management, encompassing the Canadian Access Federation (CAF), eduroam Wi-Fi roaming, and Federated Identity Management (FIM) connecting Canadian users to over 2,900 global services via eduGAIN.
CANARIE's business model is government-funded mandate-based: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISDE) provides five-year block funding ($176M CAD for 2024-2029, up from $137M for 2020-2024), with services delivered at no direct cost to approximately 600 Canadian institutions — including universities, colleges, research institutes, hospitals, and government laboratories — through 13 provincial and territorial NREN partners. The organization is governed by an independent board with equal industry and academic representation and operates under a federally chartered mandate that positions it as the sole national R&E network operator.
CANARIE firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CANARIE
- Legal name
- CANARIE Inc.
- Website
- https://canarie.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- CANARIE operates Canada's National Research and Education Network (NREN), providing 400 Gbps national and transatlantic connectivity, cybersecurity services, and federated identity management to over 600 Canadian universities, colleges, research institutes, and hospitals, funded by the Government of Canada.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CANARIE industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Research and Education Network Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) & Secure SD-WAN (HDAIAFAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Network Security Managed Services (Firewall/IDS/IPS/SASE) (BPAEADAG)
Keywords
Where CANARIE is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ottawa
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CANARIE business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Government Funding: CANARIE is a non-profit corporation with most of its funding provided by the Government of Canada. The organization received $176 million for a 5-year mandate (2024-2029) from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISDE). Previously received $137 million for 2020-2024 mandate.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
CANARIE product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CANARIE designs, delivers, and operates Canada's National Research and Education Network (NREN), a 40,000+ km ultra-high-speed network backbone connecting Canadian researchers, educators, and innovators nationally and to approximately 100 global NRENs. It delivers three integrated programs: the CANARIE Network (with the MOXY global exchange point), the Cybersecurity Initiatives Program (CIP) providing threat intelligence and federated SOC services, and Identity & Access Management services (CAF, eduroam, FIM) enabling secure global academic roaming.
Product overview
CANARIE operates as Canada's National Research and Education Network (NREN), providing a unified portfolio of network infrastructure and cybersecurity services. The core offering is the CANARIE Network, an ultra-high-speed backbone spanning over 40,000 km that connects Canada's research and education community nationally and globally. This network is anchored by MOXY, the Global Exchange Point in Montreal. The Identity & Access Management suite provides federated identity services (CAF, eduroam, FIM) enabling seamless authentication and WiFi roaming. The Cybersecurity Initiatives Program (CIP) delivers threat intelligence, assessments, and the CanSSOC federated SOC pilot. The NREN platform connects 13 provincial/territorial partners and approximately 100 international NRENs. Together, these products form an integrated infrastructure supporting data-intensive science and international collaboration.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MOXY: Global Exchange Point for Research and Education in Montreal, serving as a vital landing point for European-North American R&E traffic.
- Canadian Access Federation (CAF)
- Cybersecurity Initiatives Program (CIP)
- eduroam
Products and services
- CANARIE Network
Quantifiable outcome
- 699 PB of data transmitted in 2023
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use CANARIE
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CANARIE technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
CANARIE partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.
- NORDUnetcoreNordic NREN partner collaborating on the Advanced North Atlantic (ANA) initiative and the 400G Montreal-Amsterdam transatlantic network upgrade. NORDUnet contributes network engineering expertise and maintains global peering fabric with unrestricted capacity and built-in diversity.
- SURFcoreDutch NREN partner and operator of NetherLight exchange point in Amsterdam. Contributed the Amsterdam-Montreal link to the Advanced North Atlantic (ANA) collaboration, providing geographical diversity essential for robust global network connectivity.
- MOXY (Global Exchange Point for Research and Education)coreCanada's Global Exchange Point for Research and Education in Montreal, serving as vital landing point for European-North American R&E traffic. Provides open, high-capacity environment where global R&E networks interconnect to advance large-scale scientific discovery.
- NetherLightcoreDutch Global Exchange Point in Amsterdam that partners with MOXY to anchor the 400G Montreal-Amsterdam transatlantic connection, providing dedicated path linking Europe and North America for research and education traffic.
- Internet2coreUS research and education network partner. During the 2021 British Columbia floods that cut Vancouver off from the Canadian NREN, Internet2 provided emergency backup connectivity via the southern neighbor, demonstrating the value of international partnerships for network resilience.
- GÉANTcoreEuropean NREN organization and primary cooperative for cyberinfrastructure and services for research and education. Key partner in global research networking, facilitating connections between Canadian and European research networks.
- Canadian Research and Education SectorcoreSector-wide collaboration including universities, colleges, and research institutions. In 2024, CANARIE formed a national working group of IT and cybersecurity leaders from the R&E sector to guide and inform cybersecurity initiatives, ensuring programs reflect community realities and priorities.
- Digital Research Alliance of Canada (The Alliance)strategicCollaborative partner in equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives. CANARIE and the Alliance work closely together on shared EDI commitments, with employees from both organizations sharing training, resources, and implementing programs to facilitate integration and inclusion.
- Canadian Internet Registry Authority (CIRA)strategicCANARIE participates in the Canadian Internet Governance Forum (FCGI) through CIRA, which provides the forum's secretariat. The FCGI is a multi-stakeholder initiative promoting inclusive, open, and transparent dialogue on digital policy.
- Advanced North Atlantic (ANA) CollaborationcoreMulti-partner collaboration between CANARIE, US organizations (Internet2, ESnet), and European NRENs (NORDUnet, SURF, GÉANT) to establish and share transatlantic connections for research and education. Since 2013, the ANA has facilitated significant data transfer between instruments, institutions, and researchers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CANARIE competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GÉANT: GÉANT operates Europe's research and education network, providing high-capacity connectivity, identity federation (eduGAIN), and cybersecurity services to 50+ million users across European NRENs - functionally equivalent to CANARIE's role in Canada and a named CANARIE partner.
- Internet2: Internet2 is the US research and education network, operating the national backbone for US universities and running InCommon (federated identity) and NET+ cloud services - a direct peer and named CANARIE partner that provided emergency backup during the 2021 BC floods.
- NORDUnet: NORDUnet is the joint Nordic NREN collaboration that co-builds transatlantic capacity with CANARIE, including the 400G Montreal-Amsterdam link via the Advanced North Atlantic (ANA) initiative.
- SURF: SURF is the Dutch NREN and operator of the NetherLight exchange point in Amsterdam, which anchors the transatlantic R&E link with CANARIE and contributes geographical diversity for global connectivity.
- ESnet: ESnet is the US Department of Energy's research network serving national labs and large science facilities (CERN, LHC) with high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity - a peer in delivering mission-critical R&E bandwidth and a fellow ANA collaborator.
- JISC: JISC is the UK digital, data, and technology agency for higher education and research, providing Janet network connectivity, identity, and cybersecurity services to UK universities - directly analogous to CANARIE's portfolio in the UK.
- RENATER: RENATER is the French national research and education network, providing high-speed connectivity, identity federation, and security services to French universities and research institutions - a structurally identical peer to CANARIE.
- AARNet: AARNet is Australia's NREN, operating the national backbone for Australian universities and research institutions with comparable scale and mission to CANARIE.
Broad incumbents
- Cisco Systems: Cisco is a broad incumbent networking equipment and SASE provider whose routing, switching, and SD-WAN technology underpins much of the CANARIE network's underlying infrastructure, making it an adjacent rather than direct peer.
- Palo Alto Networks: Palo Alto Networks is a broad cybersecurity incumbent offering SASE, NGFW, and SOC capabilities that overlap with CANARIE's Cybersecurity Initiatives Program and CanSSOC offerings, though at commercial scale rather than R&E-specialized.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CANARIE social profiles
Digital presenceCANARIE financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CANARIE leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
CANARIE funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CANARIE M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CANARIE
What does CANARIE do?
CANARIE designs, delivers, and operates Canada's National Research and Education Network (NREN), a 40,000+ km ultra-high-speed network backbone connecting Canadian researchers, educators, and innovators nationally and to approximately 100 global NRENs. It delivers three integrated programs: the CANARIE Network (with the MOXY global exchange point), the Cybersecurity Initiatives Program (CIP) providing threat intelligence and federated SOC services, and Identity & Access Management services (CAF, eduroam, FIM) enabling secure global academic roaming.
Is CANARIE a public or private company?
CANARIE is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was CANARIE founded?
CANARIE was founded in 1993. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is CANARIE based?
CANARIE is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, in the North America region.
How does CANARIE make money?
One revenue line is on record: government Funding.
Who are CANARIE's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GÉANT, Internet2, NORDUnet, SURF, ESnet, JISC, RENATER and AARNet. Broad incumbents are Cisco Systems and Palo Alto Networks.
Does CANARIE have an API?
No public API is recorded for CANARIE.
What industry is CANARIE in?
CANARIE's product category is Research and Education Network Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAIAFAH, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) & Secure SD-WAN, with a secondary code of BPAEADAG, Network Security Managed Services (Firewall/IDS/IPS/SASE). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7373.