Canada joins European supercomputing initiative under new EU alliance

Canada has joined the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, giving Canadian researchers, innovators, and businesses access to JUPITER, among the world’s most powerful supercomputers. The move is intended to accelerate AI collaboration and scientific discovery under the Alliance for the Future, a new partnership launched by Canadian and European Union leaders in Montréal.

Canada and the EU also concluded a digital trade agreement designed to simplify online sales and cross-border transactions. It covers greater certainty around electronic signatures, digital products, and commercial data transfers while preserving each side’s ability to regulate in the public interest. Planned negotiations would expand Canada’s participation in Erasmus+ and seek Canadian membership in the next Horizon Europe research program.

The broader partnership includes cooperation on secure satellite connectivity, navigation services, and critical minerals investment. Both sides will study a direct transatlantic data cable intended to support secure data exchange and reduce reliance on a single provider. They are also exploring a deeper relationship under which Canada would become the EU’s first Associate Member, with the substance and scope still to be determined.