CANARIE

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.

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

Product category

Research and Education Network Infrastructure

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHDAIAFAH

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) & Secure SD-WAN

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Telecommunications & Network Services/Data & IP Network Services (MPLS, SD-WAN, Ethernet)

SECONDARYBPAEADAG

Network Security Managed Services (Firewall/IDS/IPS/SASE)

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/Cybersecurity Services (MSSP)

Keywords

• Research network infrastructure
• National research network
• Federated identity management
• Cybersecurity research services
• Education network connectivity

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• NORDUnetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Nordic 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.
• SURFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Dutch 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)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Canada'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.
• NetherLightcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Dutch 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.
• Internet2coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS 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.
• GÉANTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean 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 SectorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSector-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)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative 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)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCANARIE 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) CollaborationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/CANARIE_Inc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/canarie-inc-
• Facebookfacebook.com/CanarieInc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CANARIE