Canada and the European Union wrapped up their summit in Montréal on Friday with an “Alliance for the Future,” and a good part of it is about technology. The Prime Minister’s Office release and its backgrounder list nine tech items. Only a few are done deals.
Done
- Supercomputers. Canada has joined the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, which pools Europe’s computing infrastructure and funds research in high-performance computing, AI and quantum. Canadian researchers and businesses get access to JUPITER, a supercomputer in Germany. BetaKit reports that the network includes 14 supercomputers, 10 quantum computers and 19 “AI factories.” The government hasn’t said when Canadian access starts.
- Digital trade. Negotiations on a Canada-EU Digital Trade Agreement are concluded. Ottawa says it will make it easier for Canadian businesses to sell online across Europe, but it hasn’t published the provisions.
- Competition. A new agreement lets the Competition Bureau and its EU counterparts work more closely on investigations, with information sharing subject to legal safeguards.
Still talks or studies
| Item | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Instant payments | Support for linking Canada’s planned Real-Time Rail with the EU’s TIPS system. No timeline. |
| Banks, insurers, fintechs | A joint working group will look at opening each side’s markets. |
| Horizon Europe | Canada will negotiate to join the EU’s next research program (2028 to 2034). |
| IRIS² satellites | Canada will “explore” taking part in Europe’s secure satellite network. |
| Galileo | Canada will formalize a partnership to improve positioning and navigation, including in the Arctic. |
| Data cable | Canada will study the best routes for a cable to Europe, then compare notes with the EU. |
AI Minister Evan Solomon also told BetaKit that the lead for Canada’s own public AI supercomputer, funded under an $890-million program, will be named “early in the new year.”
Why it matters: The supercomputer access is the only part that changes things soon, and it matters most to researchers and AI startups that can’t afford that much computing. The payments link would let Canadians send money to Europe almost instantly, but it depends on Real-Time Rail, whose first phase BetaKit says is expected this fall. The cable is aimed at a real weak spot: BetaKit cites a CIGI estimate that about 80 per cent of Canada’s internet traffic goes through the U.S. For now it’s a study, with no route or budget.