Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeInnovationCanada on track for a top 10 AI supercomputer, Solomon saysCanada is currently the only G7 country without a supercomputer that ranks in the top 25Last updated 1 day ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, at the Global Progress Action Summit at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ont., on May 9. Photo by Nick Kozak/Postmedia filesCanada is on track to build an AI supercomputer so powerful it could crack the top 10 to 15 globally, says AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorCanada is currently the only G7 country without a supercomputer that ranks in the top 25, according to an index that tracks the most powerful high-performance computers.Solomon said the country’s ambition is “significantly higher than building a top 50 supercomputer,” and that drive is being fuelled by Ottawa’s $890-million program to fund the construction and operation of a public AI supercomputer for researchers and businesses.The government is currently fielding proposals for the public AI supercomputer’s infrastructure layer that will close in June.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againSolomon declined to say how long the selection process would take, but said the final decision will come soon afterward.“It will be in a period of time where there’s a due diligence process,” he said. “These are very complicated proposals … and we’re going to evaluate them thoroughly.”On Tuesday, Solomon announced that 44 Canadian businesses will receive $66 million to help them secure “compute,” the processing power required to train and run AI models, under a previously announced $300-million Compute Access Fund.The program was launched to help small- and medium-sized businesses scale AI projects and to remain competitive while being headquartered in Canada.Solomon said compute is the “core infrastructure of our economy” and that Ottawa’s portfolio of compute programs works together to advance homegrown AI innovation and reduce reliance on foreign providers.“We have to build it. You can’t run a sovereign AI strategy on someone else’s servers or on other jurisdictions’ rules,” he said at a separate press conference on Monday.Ottawa launched a national AI compute strategy in December 2024 that earmarked more than $2 billion to help build infrastructure and improve access to compute for domestic researchers and companies.Last March, it awarded Toronto-based Cohere Inc., Canada’s only AI model developer, $240 million to help it purchase compute at an Ontario AI data centre built and operated by New Jersey-based CoreWeave Inc.Some researchers and organizations are concerned the government is prioritizing AI growth over safety and regulation.For example, a network of more than 160 professors, individuals and advocacy groups in January launched an initiative called People’s Consultation on AI to “advance AI law, policy and regulation centred around human rights and the public interest” and counter what some have called the government’s deeply flawed approach.The federal government is set to release its long-overdue national AI strategy soon, Solomon said, and it will lay out a blueprint for building a sovereign ecosystem and driving AI adoption that is safe and secure.He said Ottawa is also closely watching how the United States is “going to move in any way, shape or form towards a regulatory environment,” referring to Big Tech companies such as Microsoft Corp., Google LLC and SpaceXAI giving the U.S. government early access to its AI models for national security checks.The government is also in regular contact with Anthropic PBC about its Mythos AI model that it said could exploit security gaps in software much faster and easier than humans.“We are following up. We’re also in close contact with the U.S. and G7 allies,” Solomon said. “We’re taking it seriously.”Anthropic has not publicly released Mythos, but made it available to a select group of companies to help organizations shore up their cyber defences.Solomon said the government is “making sure that Canada and Canadians have access to the tools that they need to protect themselves.” Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.