What is quantum computing and can Canada remain a hotbed for the futuristic technology?

Canada has the biggest number of quantum companies per capita in the world, but the race to develop the technology is heating upYou can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.In only four decades, the field of quantum computing has made big leaps, evolving from a theoretical framework in 1980 to working technologies that are showing the first glimmers of commercial potential. This year, the race to commercialization has only intensified, with a range of players claiming major technological breakthroughs. Canada has been a hotbed of quantum computing since its inception. On Dec. 15, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon unveiled a new federal initiative, the Canadian Quantum Champions Program, aimed at identifying and funding “anchor” companies in the quantum field. But can Canada remain a leader, or will quantum computing become another transformative technology that the country let slip through its grasp?

The Financial Post’s Yvonne Lau breaks down what you need to know, from the technical basics to the role Canada has played — and hopes to continue playing — it its development.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.Quantum computing involves leveraging the unique properties of quantum mechanics — the physics of sub-atomic particles — to solve complex problems beyond the scope of traditional computers.Ordinary computers, from personal laptops to high-performance supercomputers, process information and perform calculations sequentially using binary “bits,” which can have a value of either 0 or 1. Quantum computers, on the other hand, use quantum bits or “qubits,” which are created by manipulating quantum particles such as photons and electrons. Qubits can represent a 0 or 1 but because of a property of quantum mechanics known as superposition, can also be both numbers at the same time, enabling them to perform exponentially faster calculations.Because qubits are made from particles, they are highly sensitive to their surroundings and need to be kept in very cold environments to reduce noise, which can produce errors and inaccurate results, making it challenging to build large-scale, error-free machines.The power of quantum computing nevertheless makes it particularly promising for complex applications such as material science, drug discovery and cybersecurity.Over the past year, companies from U.S. big tech giants to Canadian-founded startups have announced significant technological developments.In December 2024, Google LLC launched a quantum computing chip called Willow, which the company described as an ultra-fast chip with reduced error tendencies. Google said Willow solved a computational problem in five minutes, which would have taken the world’s top supercomputer 10 septillion years — far longer than the age of the universe — to crack. Google’s quantum team said that the speed of its chip suggested that quantum computation might even be occurring in multiple, parallel universes.Then in February, Microsoft Corp. revealed that it had invented a new state of matter — which is not liquid, solid, or gas, but a “topological superconductor” — to power its first-ever quantum computing chip, called Majorana 1. Amazon, meanwhile, claims its Ocelot chip, also released in February, can cut the costs of quantum error correction by up to 90 per cent.In March, Vancouver-founded quantum computing firm D-Wave Quantum Systems Inc. became the latest entity to claim to have achieved “quantum supremacy” — the ability to solve a specific, complex problem using a quantum computer that would not have been possible on a traditional computer.Quantum scientists and researchers largely agree that Amazon and Google’s chips signified major breakthroughs in the progress of error-corrected quantum computers.“(The) clever physics, computer science, and sophisticated engineering they harnessed to approach the holy grail of ‘fault tolerance’ is extremely exciting,” said Aephraim Steinberg, a University of Toronto physics professor and founding member of the Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control.Still, the claims of quantum supremacy have been hotly debated within the academic community.Google was the first to make the claim in 2019, followed by China’s University of Science and Technology in 2020 and Toronto quantum computing firm Xanadu Technologies Inc. in 2022.“It would be an understatement to say that the jury is still out about Microsoft and D-Wave’s claims,” Steinberg said. Some physicists contend that traditional computers can accomplish what D-Wave’s machine achieved, while scientists have pushed back on Microsoft’s claims citing a lack of evidence. “That’s not to say that (their) approaches aren’t promising … but simply that there hasn’t been persuasive evidence presented publicly that either of these goals has yet been achieved,” he said.Quantum computing remains at a nascent stage.The recent claims of quantum advantage are “interesting” but involve “commercially irrelevant computational problems,” according to Barry Sanders, a physics professor at the University of Calgary and scientific director at Quantum City, an ecosystem for quantum science and technology in Alberta. This means that real-world use cases of the technology are still years away.Experts have offered varying timelines on how quickly mainstream adoption and commercialization will materialize. Many say that quantum computing for practical, niche applications is at least half-a-decade away. It would be a stretch to see widespread adoption in that time frame, Steinberg said, “though 10 years would no longer strike me as madness.”Juan Carrasquilla, an associate professor of physics at ETH Zurich and a faculty affiliate at The Vector Institute, a Toronto-based AI research organization, said today’s quantum computers aren’t yet powerful enough to take on the kinds of cybersecurity tasks that many see as promising uses of the technology.“Running these algorithms on a large-scale, relevant for real-world cryptographic protocols, has not been demonstrated yet,” he said, adding that at present, quantum computers are not suited to most tasks and aren’t expected to replace supercomputers, which are better for AI, anytime soon.Canada has long been a hotbed of quantum computing, with a mix of public and private funds helping catalyze the sector in the early 2000s.D-Wave released the first computer based on quantum technology in 2011. By mid-decade, Vancouver-based 1Qbit had become the first software firm dedicated to making commercial applications for quantum computers. A few years later, Xanadu, which recently announced plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, launched the first dedicated machine learning software for quantum computers.Today, Canada is home to more than 60 quantum startups and SMEs — spanning technologies from quantum computing to sensors and communications — meaning it has the world’s highest concentration of quantum companies per capita.Lisa Lambert, chief executive of Quantum Industry Canada (QIC), an industry group, said that Canada has excelled at research but struggled with commercializing the technology, with Canadian firms competing “toe-to-toe” with deep pocketed global players. Big investments and major developments have come from the United States and China, alongside Canadian allies like the United Kingdom and Australia.“Every developed country is working on catching up or surpassing us,” Steinberg said.Canada is well-placed to be a global leader in quantum computing due to existing advantages in hardware, software, and talent, Lambert said.“But if we don’t accelerate our investments and support, there’s a real risk that we lose our hard-won, early advantage, with quantum companies and talent migrating to more competitive markets,” she said.In 2021, Ottawa released Canada’s first-ever national quantum strategy. It earmarked $360 million for research, talent, and commercialization efforts over seven years. Since then, industry and academics have called on Ottawa for more quantum funding to ensure Canada can maintain, and advance, its leadership in the sector. “We need to provide the support necessary for startups not to flee to countries with better funding opportunities,” Steinberg said.Ottawa seems to have heeded that call.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Budget 2025 allocated an additional $336 million for quantum technologies tied to Canada’s new Defence Industrial Strategy.On Dec. 15., Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon announced the launch of the Canadian Quantum Champions Program (CQCP), which will allocate up to $92 million to fund four quantum companies. The program is designed to keep Canadian firms and intellectual property at home, and to mirror the U.S.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), which hopes to determine a viable path to building a commercial-grade quantum computer by 2033.Phase one of the CQCP will give Photonic Inc., Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc., Anyon Systems Inc. and Nord Quantique up to $23 million each to accelerate the development of fault-tolerant computers useful for industry, helping them to grow in Canada.Lambert heralded the quantum champions program as a move in the right direction.“Quantum technologies — computing, sensing and communications — are now understood as strategic infrastructure that will underpin economic competitiveness and national security.

The Canadian Quantum Champions Program is designed to ensure that Canada translates its early leadership into scalable, sovereign capability with long-term value,” she said.Julien Camirand Lemyre, founder and chief executive of Nord Quantique, said the funding would boost Canada’s competitiveness.“Canada is stepping forward to make sure that we are a part of the (quantum) story,” he said. “The commercialization of quantum is not realized anywhere in the world (yet) so it’s really a race. We have globally competitive companies, so it’s important to invest and make sure that we stay competitive.”• Email: ylau@postmedia.com Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.