A group of universities and startups is calling for the federal government to implement a national quantum strategy to help the nascent sector grow in Canada, as the U.S., China and other countries invest billions in the technology.
A proposal before Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) seeks $460 million over five years for research projects, skills training, business-support programs and other measures, documents obtained by The Logic show.
Researchers, university administrators and executives say the country’s labs and firms have shown early promise in quantum, but need targeted policy and funding to commercialize discoveries and compete internationally. “We’re talking about Canada holding very critical pieces of the quantum sector,” said Michele Mosca, a University of Waterloo (UW) professor and co-founder of its Institute for Quantum Computing.
