As of September 1, 2026, Atlantic IXPs Inc. (AIXP) and CANIX have merged. MonctonIX, HFXIX and PEIX become CANIX Moncton, CANIX Halifax and CANIX Charlottetown, joining Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau and Quebec City, with more coming soon.
Both boards made this decision in the interest of the networks they serve. It is the result of more than two and a half years of work between our two organizations. Our thanks go to John Sherwood and Eric Morin for making it happen. They built something real and solid out east, and we intend to keep it that way.
Why a local exchange matters in Atlantic Canada
An Internet exchange point is where networks meet to hand traffic straight to each other instead of paying a transit provider to carry it. When two networks serving the same city peer at a local exchange, the traffic between their users travels a few kilometres rather than a few thousand.
That matters everywhere, but it matters more in Atlantic Canada than almost anywhere else in the country. The region sits far from the major data centre campuses and interconnection hubs in central Canada and the northeastern United States. Without a local exchange, traffic between two networks in the same province can end up routed hundreds or thousands of kilometres away and back again just to reach a destination down the road.
Every one of those detours costs latency and adds a dependency on infrastructure nobody in the region controls. A local exchange removes both. It keeps regional traffic regional, cuts round-trip times for the people actually using these networks, and gives the region a fabric that stays up on its own terms rather than at the end of a long-haul circuit.
What stays the same
Ports, VLANs and peering sessions stay exactly where they are. Member pricing holds. The community-run local committee continues, with people on the ground in each market, and it remains the sounding board for local decisions and local community events.
These exchanges were built and run by their communities, and they stay that way. The local voice stays local, by design.
What improves
- A 24/7 NOC covering all seven exchanges
- OIX-1 certified operating practice
- Route servers, shared engineering, national billing and support
- Carrier-grade hardware on a regular replacement cycle
- A single point of contact across Canada
What changes for the rest of the network
CANIX members gain reach into three new markets without standing up their own presence in each one. Networks already peering in Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Quebec City or Toronto deal with the same operator, the same interconnection agreement and the same support desk in Atlantic Canada.
Peer with us
If your network has infrastructure in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island, come peer locally: one operator, one agreement, one support desk across all seven exchanges.
CANIX’s goal is to connect everyone in Canada. One peer at a time.
Let’s make the Internet better… Together.
