Sovereign AI
Sovereign programme record · Canada · 2024–2030
Canada: programme funding and hardware
Canada: Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy / Pan-Canadian AI Strategy / AI for All
The reconciliation
This record has no dollar amount for these funding stages. Programme details and source amounts appear below.
Operating compute / delivered hardware. Reported operational or delivered: 636 NVIDIA A100 SXM4 (40GB) (physical hardware).
Funding components
| Component | Kind | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Budget 2024: public supercomputer allocation (up to C$705M, March 2025 breakdown) | Government | — |
| Budget 2024: commercial data-centre support (up to C$700M) | Government | — |
| Budget 2024: Compute Access Fund (up to C$300M) | Government | — |
| Budget 2024: expansion of existing infrastructure (up to C$200M) | Government | — |
| Budget 2025: sovereign public AI infrastructure (C$925.6M; includes previously provided funding) | Government | — |
| AI for All: additional Compute Access Fund funding (C$700M, June 2026) | Government | — |
Hardware on record
| Model | Count | Status | Organisation / role |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA A100 SXM4 (40GB) | 636 | Operational | Digital Research Alliance (Narval, Calcul Québec) |
Physical hardware: Narval’s A100 partition: 159 nodes with four GPUs each. Primary source | |||
Empanelled partners · 9
| Partner | Accelerators | Model | Stage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohere Inc. | — | NVIDIA (model unspecified) | Awarded | Primary source · 2025-03-20 |
The government finalised a contribution of up to C$240M to Cohere’s C$725M compute project in March 2025. Cohere is the anchor tenant of the Cambridge facility that CoreWeave will build and operate.
| ||||
| CoreWeave | — | NVIDIA (model unspecified) | Awarded | Primary source · 2026-06-05 |
Will build and operate the Cambridge, Ontario compute facility for which Cohere is the anchor tenant. The C$725M project and federal contribution concern Cohere’s compute expansion.
| ||||
| Digital Research Alliance of Canada | — | — | Announced | Primary source · 2025-02-18 |
Maintains Canada’s research computing, data and software infrastructure. In February 2025, the Alliance said it was scheduled to receive C$85M for AI compute. | ||||
| Mila (Institut québécois d'intelligence artificielle) | — | — | Empanelled | Primary source · 2025-07-25 |
Works with Université Laval on the Pan-Canadian AI Compute Environment, which provides dedicated infrastructure for AI research.
| ||||
| Vector Institute | — | — | Empanelled | Primary source · 2025-07-25 |
Works with the University of Toronto on the Pan-Canadian AI Compute Environment.
| ||||
| Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) | — | — | Empanelled | Primary source · 2025-07-25 |
Worked with the University of Alberta to build Vulcan, a PAICE research computing system launched in April 2025.
| ||||
| Shared Services Canada | — | — | Empanelled | Primary source · 2025-03-20 |
Co-leads the smaller secure computing facility planned for government and industry research, including national-security work.
| ||||
| National Research Council of Canada | — | — | Empanelled | Primary source · 2025-03-20 |
Co-leads the secure computing facility with Shared Services Canada. Its existing research infrastructure is also eligible for the near-term compute expansion.
| ||||
| Queen's University | — | — | Announced | Primary source · 2026-03-26 |
Queen’s and Simon Fraser University signed an agreement to pursue federal supercomputer funding. Their proposed model includes Bell as an infrastructure partner and depends on securing that funding.
| ||||
External dependence
NVIDIA hardware: High · US technology: High. These are editorial assessments based on the programme’s procurement disclosures.
Named partners: Digital Research Alliance of Canada, CIFAR, ISED, Canada Infrastructure Bank, NRC.
Canada’s compute strategy combines public supercomputing with support for commercial data centres and subsidies for smaller businesses’ compute purchases. The June 2026 AI for All strategy adds C$700M to the Compute Access Fund and describes proposed commercial partnerships that could supply 850 MW by 2030, with potential expansion to 2.3 GW.
Data-quality caveats on this record · 6
- Budget 2024 provided up to C$2B over five years: C$700M for the AI Compute Challenge, C$1B for public computing infrastructure, and C$300M for the Compute Access Fund.
- Budget 2025’s C$925.6M includes C$800M previously provided for in the fiscal framework. Its overlap with the Budget 2024 allocation is unresolved.
- The March 2025 breakdown assigned up to C$705M to the public supercomputer and C$200M to existing infrastructure, both within the C$1B public-infrastructure envelope. A smaller secure facility was also planned, with no separate amount specified.
- The 2026 supercomputer call proposes approximately C$890M over seven fiscal years from 2026–27 for design, construction and operation. Funding remains subject to spending authority, negotiation and a contribution agreement. Applications closed on 1 June 2026.
- Narval’s existing configuration comprises 159 nodes with four A100 40 GB GPUs each, or 636 GPUs. The new supercomputer call gives no device count.
- The 850 MW proposed for 2030 and potential expansion to 2.3 GW depend on commercial partnerships still being finalised in June 2026.
The evidence trail
15 cited sources- Prime Minister’s announcement of AI for All on 4 June 2026. — Primary source · accessed 2026-07-14
- AI for All: additional Compute Access Fund funding and proposed commercial compute capacity. — Primary source · accessed 2026-07-14
- Former ISED supercomputer-programme address; now redirects to the department’s language-selection page. — Primary source · no accessed date on record
- Alliance documentation of Narval’s node configuration and A100 GPUs. — Primary source · accessed 2026-04-08
- ISED’s public-infrastructure, commercial-compute and SME-access programmes. — Primary source · accessed 2026-03-28
- ISED’s 5 December 2024 allocation of the C$2B compute strategy across three programmes. — Primary source · accessed 2026-03-28
- Alliance response to Budget 2024’s broader C$2.4B AI package. — Primary source · accessed 2026-03-28
- CIFAR’s account of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy. — Primary source · accessed 2026-03-28
- Budget 2025, “Seizing the Full Potential of Artificial Intelligence”: C$925.6M, including C$800M previously provided for. — Primary source · accessed 2026-09-08
- The 2026 public-supercomputer call: approximately C$890M, funding conditions and the 1 June closing date. — Primary source · accessed 2026-09-08
- ISED’s 20 March 2025 announcement of the Cohere contribution and revised compute-programme allocations. — Primary source · accessed 2026-09-08
- ISED environmental assessment identifying Cohere as anchor tenant and CoreWeave as facility builder and operator; issued 5 June 2026. — Primary source · accessed 2026-09-08
- The Alliance’s 18 February 2025 announcement of its Australian partnership and scheduled C$85M funding. — Primary source · accessed 2026-09-08
- Amii’s 25 July 2025 account of PAICE’s institute–university partnerships and the Vulcan launch. — Primary source · accessed 2026-09-08
- Queen’s 26 March 2026 announcement of its proposed collaboration with Simon Fraser University and Bell. — Primary source · accessed 2026-09-08
Machine accessThe same record, machine-readable: the evidence-trail feed and the derivation-chain export.