A message from
CIRA’s board chair:
Members,
Looking back at the past year it’s clear that CIRA, and the internet as a whole, are entering a critical transition phase.
As the world settles into a rhythm similar to that which existed pre-pandemic, we are beginning to see what this next phase of the internet might look like, and how it may impact CIRA.
The domain industry has returned to pre-2020 business conditions and as such is seeing flattening growth. The domain name industry is now in its maturity phase, which resulted in an annual growth rate for .CA of 0.9% this fiscal year. This reflects overall industry trends and is consistent with the growth rates in the top 30 ccTLDs. CIRA finished the year with 3,392,890 .CA domains under management.
As the domain industry slows, the cost of running and protecting a domain registry is higher than ever. Infrastructure is more expensive, talent is scarce and in demand, and keeping a critical element of Canada’s digital infrastructure secure requires constant vigilance. CIRA has been planning for this inevitability for many years—its diversified services strategy was created to hedge against these trends and protect the long-term viability of the .CA domain.
In this past fiscal year, CIRA’s cybersecurity and registry services generated $8 million in combined revenues. While this fell short of the corporate goal, the growth of CIRA’s diversified services continues to provide not only added resources to protect the future of .CA, but also infrastructure, expertise and platforms that run and protect Canada’s domain today.
The registry itself is central to how .CA stays safe, runs smoothly and continues to earn the trust of Canadians. The CIRA Registry Platform is now one of the best in market and in addition to running .CA, now powers eight other TLDs including .sg, .nz and .eco, adding up to more than 4.5 million domains under management. This momentum led to the signing of a historic partnership agreement with SIDN, the registry for the Netherlands, to jointly own and co-develop the registry platform. This agreement is a major step forward for CIRA’s registry technology and provides the foundation for a global partnership to build a best-in-class registry system that can support a wide range of TLD providers going forward.
On the cybersecurity front, CIRA now protects more than seven million users across hospitals, schools, universities and businesses. CIRA blocked an average of 45 million malicious queries per month last fiscal year and processed more than 60 billion queries per day across its Anycast network. CIRA is seeing momentum for its cybersecurity products and services as it works to keep everyone safe online.
CIRA is part of a global system that helps ensure the internet is a safe, interoperable, accessible and trustworthy resource for people to learn, work, shop and connect online. This system operates not by the decree of any government but by a unique multistakeholder governance model that brings together governments, businesses, civil society, nonprofits and even individuals who have a stake, and a say, in how the internet is run.
One significant change in this new phase of the internet is the increasing level of engagement and interest among governments in regulating the internet. CIRA’s policy and advocacy team has been busy managing this new reality and last year began executing its international engagement strategy in support of multistakeholderism.
As part of this work, the team expanded relationships within the Government of Canada and responded to or delivered statements at seven UN-led consultations.
At ICANN, CIRA’s President & CEO delivered a presentation to the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) to share our concerns with our global country code top level domain (ccTLD) counterparts. This work will continue in the coming years as CIRA seeks to further engage and build consensus for policies and processes that reflect the values of an open, safe and interoperable internet.
CIRA’s has long been committed to the concept of multistakeholder engagement. In fact, CIRA was founded on that exact principle, and it is reflected to this day in the composition of the board, our engagement with members and our relationships with governments and other key stakeholders in the internet community. Our commitment to this model is unwavering and we continue to look for ways to further engage our community.
And so, this new phase for CIRA continues in earnest. The growth of diversified services, the increased threats to the internet—both technical and policy driven—and the maturation of the domain name industry require new ways of thinking, new approaches, and in some cases, completely new models for execution. The partnership with SIDN is just one example of how CIRA is bringing these practices to the market and the board will continue to provide sufficient oversight and guidance to ensure the organization stays true to its mission.
To maintain Canadians’ digital identity on the internet CIRA must be bold and, in some cases, blaze a new trail to ensure the future of .CA. The initiatives underway now, and those planned for the future, will always have the interests of Canada’s domain at heart.
Development of CIRA’s next strategic plan is underway, which will guide the organization through to 2028. Consultations with members, the board, government stakeholders and industry leaders are all a key part of the engagement strategy that will help craft this new direction. The groundwork that has been laid over the past few years is setting the organization up for some big opportunities that will be a part of this new direction and will help ensure the long-term health of the organization.
As we approach the upcoming annual general meeting in September, I ask that all members join us on this journey. We need your support, feedback and ideas as CIRA moves into this next critical phase of its existence. Take advantage of the many opportunities you have to engage with CIRA, whether it be at the AGM, a Canadians Connected event or through a survey from the organization. You are a key part of this multistakeholder process, and your input and enthusiasm are invaluable.
On behalf of the board, I would like to thank CIRA staff and management for their efforts and dedication this past year. In particular, I would like to express my confidence in, and appreciation of the leadership provided by Byron Holland, CIRA’s President & CEO. I look forward to continuing to work with this incredible team to help build a trusted internet for Canadians.
✱ Operate: delivering on our core mission
.CA performance in FY24
CIRA continued to promote the value of .CA domains for small and medium businesses, entrepreneurs and side hustlers. Following an unexpected growth surge due to the pandemic, the global domain market in FY24 settled back into its maturity phase and the .CA domain experienced headwinds much like other ccTLDs in the market. Despite the influence of inflation in 2023, CIRA managed to achieve a growth rate of 0.92%. At the close of FY24, there were 3,392,885 .CA domains under management.
Marketing activities
During the second year of a tailored marketing strategy in the Quebec region, CIRA debuted a new French video campaign aimed at inspiring Québec businesses to embrace locality with a .CA domain. We called upon Montréalers in F24 to be consciously local in their consumer choices while simultaneously urging local businesses to consider the power of a .CA domain. The eight-week campaign that was launched in Quebec with the apt tagline Quand c’est .CA, c’est local (When it’s .CA, it’s local) could be seen on major online Québec platforms.
Bernard, the goose, had a busy FY24 flying across Canada with CIRA’s popular Choose success, choose .CA ad campaign. In its second year, the campaign featured four new videos design to appeal to an untapped audience for .CA: Gen Z and Millennial side hustlers and entrepreneurs. These videos showcase Bernard encouraging Canadian business owners to proudly show themselves as local by choosing a .CA over a .com domain. In November of FY24, CIRA’s Listen to the Goose campaign soared and won sliver at the 2023 Canadian Marketing Association Awards for Brand/Business Impact in the business category.
✱ Innovate: creating new opportunities
Cybersecurity services
CIRA continues to develop new cybersecurity technologies and services by leveraging its DNS knowledge, technical expertise and global infrastructure.
7,299,859
Users protected by CIRA in FY24
CIRA DNS Firewall
CIRA DNS Firewall is a cloud-based cybersecurity solution that protects organizations from malware, ransomware, phishing and other cyber attacks. Organizations are recognizing the extra defence it provides to their existing technologies as it continues to show rapid adoption across the country.
CIRA DNS Firewall stats
3,388,527 Active Firewall users
as of end of FY24
524 Firewall customers
as of end of FY24
7.97M Botnet blocks
monthly average
30.2M Malware blocks
monthly average
7.18M Phishing blocks
monthly average
Users protected
1,160,357
K-12 Students
as of end of FY24
129,743
Healthcare workers
as of end of FY24
79,424
Municipality employees
as of end of FY24
1,817,527
University students and faculty
as of end of FY24
CIRA Cybersecurity Awareness Training
CIRA Cybersecurity Awareness Training is an integrated courseware and phishing simulation platform that enables organizations to educate their staff to protect themselves from cyber risks like social engineering and ransomware.
This service continues to be adopted across Canada as organizations recognize that the first line of defence against hackers is a cyber-savvy workforce.
418 Customers
as of end of FY24
180 Enterprise customers
as of end of FY24
191,121 Employees protected
as of end of FY24
Protected by CIRA's Cybersecurity Awareness Training in FY24
82 Municipalities and government
40 K-12 Schools
55 Universities and research networks
20 Healthcare institutions
CIRA Canadian Shield
CIRA Canadian Shield is a free cybersecurity service that improves privacy by anonymizing DNS queries. It’s built by Canadians, exclusively for Canadian households, to block viruses, ransomware and other malware.
This year, CIRA added a new browser extension to simplify online safety for Canadians. The free Canadian Shield add-on allows more Canadian households to access online protection without any technical skills required.
3,911,332
Users—as of end of FY24
84.8M
Blocks—last month
DNS and registry services
CIRA leverages its registry and DNS expertise to help organizations around the world manage and protect their domains.
CIRA Anycast DNS
CIRA Anycast DNS offers world-class global authoritative DNS infrastructure to help organizations keep their websites and domains safe, resilient and high performing. A second version of this service, called CIRA TLD Anycast, is provided to registries around the world and is used by 12.01% of the world’s country-code top level domains (36.26% of the world’s TLD’s)..
54,743,904,000
Anycast DNS queries average per day in FY24
Websites protected by Anycast DNS:
1,008,028
in FY24
994,766
in FY23
70,300
in FY22
60,731
in FY21
The CIRA Registry Platform
Built off CIRA’s 25 years of experience in managing the .CA domain, the Registry Platform is trusted by registries worldwide, from New Zealand (.nz) to Ireland (.ie). Each new top-level domain (TLD) migrating to the platform contributes to its stability and strength, giving CIRA the ability to continuously develop unparalleled new features.
Over 4.6M
Domains under management by CIRA Registry Platform
CIRA and SIDN partnership
CIRA and SIDN (the Netherlands [.NL] registry) proudly announced the formation of a new partnership to collaboratively develop, promote and support the current CIRA Registry Platform. The combined strength of CIRA and SIDN will allow for faster development, shared resources, lower costs and shared risk for both organizations. This new partnership will solidify CIRA Registry Platform’s position amongst the best in the industry.
TLDs supported by CIRA
.MLS
.SG
✱ Donate: investing in Canada’s internet
Net Good by CIRA
Net Good by CIRA invests millions of dollars each year in projects, communities and policies that make the internet better for everyone in Canada. We do this through three pillars: infrastructure, online safety and policy engagement. By funding and leading these initiatives, CIRA is tackling the digital obstacles faced by communities across the country. In addition, CIRA Grants give back by funding community-led projects that build a stronger, safer and more accessible internet for all Canadians.
$11.7M
Invested
since 2014
217
Projects funded as of end of FY24
Community story
Nunavut Arctic College is bridging the digital divide thanks to a CIRA Grant
Online academic work was nearly impossible in five remote communities across Nunavut due to a lack of reliable and fast internet of any kind. With a CIRA Net Good grant, Nunavut Artic College deployed upgraded wireless infrastructure on campuses in Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Clyde River and Arviat. Now researchers, educators and innovators in Nunavut can connect to the network no matter their location and share information, tools and research that will build partnerships and advance their educational opportunities.
National Capital Freenet
As part of its Net Good program, CIRA announced a $250,000 two-year partnership with Ottawa’s National Capital FreeNet to support a Community WiFi Network pilot project. This pilot will help bridge the digital divide across some of the lowest-income communities in Ottawa by offering free WiFi and digital skills support, starting in Vanier, Overbrook and Sandy Hill.
Internet Performance Test
The Internet Performance Test, a free Canadian-based tool, allows anyone in the country to measure their internet’s actual performance in real conditions, in real-time. The anonymized results are made available to researchers and organizations that help change Canada’s internet for the better.
In FY24, CIRA staff released a beta version of a new IPT user interface (UI). The modernized UI re-thinks the test taking process, makes it easier to use for people on touch screen devices and tells more stories with the test data. The new UI will be launched for broad public use in FY25. CIRA Members have played an important role as beta users!
118,295
Internet Performance Tests conducted in FY24
1,550,310
Lifetime Internet Performance Tests conducted
Rural internet gap
The median urban download speed is 2.96 times faster than in rural areas.
Internet Exchange Points
CIRA supports Canada’s Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) by highlighting them as a key part of a healthy internet ecosystem. CIRA peers at IXPs coast to coast to ensure Canadian users have fast, reliable access to over three million .CA domains, more than 37,000 second-level domains and 50 top-level domains. By doing our part, we’re improving the resilience and independence of our country’s internet. If you have an Autonomous System number, reach out to your local IXP to get connected.
Internet governance
Across FY24, the Policy & Advocacy (P&A) team developed and began executing its international engagement strategy in support of multistakeholder internet governance. As part of this work, the team expanded our relationships within the Government of Canada and responded to or delivered statements at seven UN-led consultations. At ICANN, CIRA’s President & CEO delivered an associated presentation to the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) to share our concerns with our global country code top level domain (ccTLD) counterparts. CIRA has also partnered with other technical operators to establish a coalition engaged in support of multistakeholderism, which will be a key initiative in FY25.
✱ Organizational foundation: a CIRA built to succeed
For the 8th year in a row, CIRA has been named a top employer by National Capital Region by Canada’s Top Employers.
CIRA was selected as one of Canada’s Best Employers for Recent Graduates in the Career Directory 2024, Canada’s longest running employment guide for new graduates.
131 Employees
7 Co-ops in FY24
$624,427.20 Spent on staff training and development
CIRA membership
14,078 Members
81% Annual member satisfaction score
9% of CIRA members actively participating in CIRA governance
