Simon Fraser University and Queen's University join forces to build Canada's national supercomputing capability

New partnership aims to create a secure, made‑in‑Canada system to power the country's artificial intelligence future

KINGSTON, ON and BURNABY, BC, March 26, 2026 /CNW/ - Queen's University and Simon Fraser University (SFU) are partnering to design and build a national sovereign, secure, and sustainable high-performance supercomputing system to grow Canada's research and development capabilities. The two universities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together, sharing expertise to deliver scalable, high-performance computing to academia, government, and industry from coast to coast.

AI supercomputers are the powerful engines that train AI models, analyze massive amounts of information, and support innovations in areas such as healthcare, clean energy, defence, manufacturing, dual-use technology and public safety. As demand for AI grows, so does the need for strong computing infrastructure that keeps data secure and ensures it stays within Canadian borders.

SFU and Queen's bring deep, complementary experience to this work. Both universities currently operate trusted public high-performance computing platforms that support some of Canada's most advanced AI projects, including those focused on critical infrastructure, life sciences, and next generation technologies. With this agreement in place, Canada would become home to its first global top-10 supercomputer, hosted by Queen's in Kingston, Ontario, and a global top-25 supercomputer in B.C, hosted by SFU. Together, this distributed model will operate as a coordinated, "made in Canada" system, working with Canadian vendors and suppliers, and driving innovation in sustainable computing.

SFU currently operates Canada's largest public supercomputing system, supporting more than 24,000 researchers and industry partners nationwide. The Cedar Supercomputing Centre is powered by clean energy and is part of Canada's most sustainable data centre, with an industry-leading power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.07. This means the facility uses only about 7 per cent more energy than the IT equipment itself, far below the industry average PUE of roughly 1.56.

For the past five years, SFU has been ranked as Canada's top university in the World University Ranking for Innovation (WURI), reflecting its leadership in AI, quantum technologies, and climate-change related research.

Queen's is the only university in Canada home to researchers who have helped design and deploy some of the world's most powerful supercomputers, including systems ranked among the global top-10 in the United States, Europe and Asia. Queen's also runs the Centre for Advanced Computing, a research data centre and analytics hub, as well as CAESAR Lab, the country's largest group of experts on the design and build of exascale systems in Canada and leaders in research advancing energy-efficient supercomputing. 

Together, this partnership aims to accelerate Canada's leadership in AI, attract global talent, work with leading supercomputing sites worldwide, strengthen national digital sovereignty, and ensure Canadian researchers and businesses have the tools they need to compete globally.

This collaboration aligns with the Government of Canada's Sovereign AI Compute strategy to build a state-of-the-art, public supercomputing infrastructure and mobilize private sector investment. As part of the strategy, Canada is investing in a new AI supercomputing system through the AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program. SFU and Queen's plan to jointly apply to the program, which is expected to launch in 2026.

Quotes

"Queen's is pleased to partner with Simon Fraser University to help strengthen Canada's sovereign, sustainable AI supercomputing capacity. This collaboration, which brings together complementary expertise in high-performance computing and AI, will help cultivate talent and train the next generation of Canadian experts. As we have seen from global leaders in the space, advanced computing infrastructure that is partnered with research and academia will strengthen Canada's economic competitiveness, enable breakthrough research at scale, safeguard digital sovereignty, and ensure we have the infrastructure needed to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven world.

- Nancy Ross, Vice-Principal, Research, Queen's University

"Canada needs secure, world‑class computing infrastructure to lead in the next generation of artificial intelligence. By partnering with Queen's, we're bringing together the expertise, talent, and the national-scale facilities needed for a sovereign platform that Canadians can trust. This collaboration strengthens our research community, supports industry innovation, and helps ensure Canada remains competitive in a rapidly evolving global landscape."

- Dugan O'Neil, Vice-President, Research & Innovation, Simon Fraser University

About

Queen's University - Founded in 1841, Queen's University, Canada, is an internationally ranked research-intensive university with more than 31,000 students and 5,000 faculty and staff. Queen's is known for research in areas such as cancer detection and treatment, geoengineering, materials science, AI and supercomputing, and is home to the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics. Queen's welcomes researchers and students from around the world and is one of Canada's leading universities. To learn more, please visit queensu.ca. 

Simon Fraser University - SFU is a leading research university, advancing an inclusive and sustainable future. Over the past 60 years, SFU has been recognized among the top universities worldwide in providing a world-class education and working with communities and partners to develop and share knowledge for deeper understanding and meaningful impact. Committed to excellence in everything we do, SFU fosters innovation to address global challenges and continues to build a welcoming, inclusive community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. With campuses in British Columbia's three largest cities -- Burnaby, Surrey and Vancouver -- SFU has 10 faculties that deliver 368 undergraduate degree programs and 149 graduate degree programs for more than 37,000 students each year. The university boasts more than 200,000 alumni residing in 145+ countries.

SOURCE Queen's University

Media inquiries: Queen's University, Julie Brown, [email protected]; Simon Fraser University, Leslie Dickson, [email protected]