(Montréal, QC) October 18, 2024 – The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) and the Government of Quebec proudly announced investments of $38.7 million to McGill University on Friday. This funding helps to address the growing demand from researchers in Quebec and Canada for cutting-edge computational resources.
Rachel Bendayan, Member of Parliament for Outremont, was on-site to celebrate the Canadian research and innovation infrastructure on behalf of the Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada. This investment reaffirms the Government of Canada's continued commitment to fuelling research and innovation across Canada.
George Ross, CEO of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, was joined by Dr. Luc Vinet, Alliance Board Director and Professor of Physics at the Université de Montréal, to announce funding of $19,350,000 in advanced research computing infrastructure to McGill University. McGill is one of Canada’s five national host sites and host to the Béluga high performance computing (HPC) cluster, housed at l’École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS).
The Hon. Christopher Skeete, Quebec Minister for the Economy, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region announced a matching investment of $19,350,000 to McGill University and thanked Calcul Québec (CQ) for its critical role in supporting HPC operations and fostering expertise for the economic development of Quebec and Canada.
This joint investment will facilitate the replacement of Béluga, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Canada for academic research, which is nearing end-of-life use. The new system, named Rorqual, will exceed Béluga’s current storage capacity and compute performance to the benefit of more than 20,000 researchers in Canada, including close to 6,000 faculty members, who rely on HPC equipment to support their diverse research projects. HPC is crucial to research across many disciplines, including computational genomics, neuroscience, artificial intelligence and machine learning, materials science, bioinformatics, climate science, and digital humanities—all of which are areas in which researchers in Canada excel. The HPC infrastructure serves as the backbone of these endeavors, offering computational and storage capabilities that are often unattainable on standard systems.
This investment is made possible by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) Strategy and approved DRI funding for 2023–25.
Quotes
“Advanced Research Computing plays a crucial role in the Digital Research Infrastructure Strategy. Investments like the ones we are celebrating today will enhance researchers' ability to leverage data for groundbreaking discoveries and innovations. By expanding Canada's supercomputing capabilities, we ensure that the country continues to excel in science and research while staying competitive on the global stage."
– The Honourable François-Phillipe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada
“Strong digital research infrastructure provides Canada’s researchers with the tools and services they need to turn big data into scientific breakthroughs. The government’s investments in high-performance computing are helping to maintain Canada as a global leader in the innovation economy.”
– Rachel Bendayan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
"Thanks to over $26 million in funding from our government, McGill University and Calcul Québec will be able to boost their compute capacity and help meet the growing needs of our researchers. This would usher in more innovative projects, generate direct spin-offs for the economy, and support key sectors - a further step towards a Quebec that stands out worldwide for its capacity to innovate.”
– The Honourable Christopher Skeete, Quebec Minister for the Economy
"This investment underscores Canada’s commitment to empowering researchers in Québec and across Canada. By collaborating with McGill and the Government of Québec, and leveraging the expertise of our partners at Calcul Québec, we are better able to meet the growing demands of researchers through state-of-the-art HPC. Our investments across the country will significantly increase computing capacity – at least doubling the current national capacity. As part of this investment, Rorqual’s increased performance has the potential to fuel discovery and research and accelerate AI innovation across disciplines.”
– George Ross, Chief Executive Officer, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada
“The Beluga cluster has been a catalyst for innovation and has enabled high-impact digital research in Quebec and across Canada, including McGill-led projects to develop AI-guided disease treatment strategies and advanced climate simulations. We are grateful to the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC) and the Government of Quebec for these significant investments in Rorqual and in the McGill/CalculQuébec data centre, which will ensure that this research capacity is not only maintained but accelerates. McGill is a key player in the dynamic digital research ecosystem in Quebec but can only reach our collective objectives through the collaboration with all partners in pursuit of the great discoveries on the horizon.”
– Dominique Bérubé, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, McGill University
“The research community's compute resource needs are continuing to grow, and our mission is to meet them. The Calcul Québec team is proud to collaborate with McGill to enhance service offering and ensure that Rorqual is a high-performance tool adapted to the specific needs of the research community. Our mission is not only limited to providing and operating cutting-edge infrastructures, we are also committed to making Rorqual accessible by ensuring that the scientific community has the skills and support it needs to exploit its full potential.”
– Suzanne Talon, Chief Executive Officer, Calcul Québec
ABOUT THE DIGITAL RESEARCH ALLIANCE OF CANADA
The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) advances and maintains digital research infrastructure (DRI) to support the management, storage and use of national research computing, data and research software. A non-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada, the Alliance serves researchers by improving data access, collaborating with DRI partners, nurturing the DRI workforce, integrating services and enhancing security. DRI is a critical national asset, and the Alliance leverages its capacities to support cutting-edge research and innovation across all disciplines — propelling Canadian research forward now and into the future.
ABOUT MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, McGill University is Canada’s top ranked medical doctoral university. McGill is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It is a world-renowned institution of higher learning with research activities spanning three campuses, 12 faculties, 14 professional schools, 300 programs of study, and over 39,000 students, including more than 10,400 graduate students. McGill attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,000 international students making up 30% of the student body. Over half of McGill students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 20% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
ABOUT CALCUL QUÉBEC
Calcul Québec is a non-profit organization that offers advanced research computing services to the research and innovation community. Its members, universities and research centres play a central role in its operations through their participation in governance and by hosting the Calcul Québec team. In partnership with the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, Calcul Québec provides access to computing infrastructure hosted in Quebec, including supercomputers, cloud services, and a quantum computer. This infrastructure, supported by local expertise and tailored training programs, contributes to the economic development of Quebec and Canada.
Media Contact
Nicole Laven
Director, Communications & Engagement
Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Nicole.Laven@alliancecan.ca