It supports the development of research software tools; provides cloud resources for startups and small businesses; provides access and identity management services; and supports the development of policies, infrastructure and tools for research data management.

It had 100 Mbit/s aggregate capacity in 1996, and the same year the National Test Network (NTN) project introduced ATM.

The replacement network, CA*net II, was launched based on NTN links and capacities, with OC-3 (155 Mbit/s) at the core.

In 1998, CANARIE deployed CA*net 3, the world's first national optical research and education network, [citation needed] with a planned capacity of 2.5 Gbit/s.

In 2011, it also launched the Digital Accelerator for Innovation and Research (DAIR) program, which provides cloud computing resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

At the SuperComputing conference in Seattle, WA, in November 2011, CANARIE participated in the transfer of 1 petabyte of data between the California Institute of Technology and the University of Victoria at a combined rate of 186 Gbit/s, setting a world record.

[citation needed] The CANARIE portion of the NREN consists of 23,000 km of fibre optic cable currently transferring data at speeds as high as 100 Gbit/s.

The core network provides full and equal support for IPv4 and IPv6 unicast and multicast routing, with external network segments that extend to international R&E exchanges in North America: Pacific Wave in Seattle, StarLight in Chicago, and Manhattan Landing (MANLAN) in New York.

[3] DAIR provides Canadian entrepreneurs and small businesses with free cloud-based compute and storage resources that help speed time to market by enabling rapid and scalable product design, prototyping, validation and demonstration.

CANARIE works with 12 provincial and territorial partner networks to provide ultra-high-speed connectivity across the country.