Canada launches it own quantum research program to rival DARPA initiative

The federal government is launching its own quantum research program in response to a United States military-backed initiative courting Canadian firms.

“This investment is foundational for cultivating a strong quantum computing industry in this country. And it is a clear indication to both foreign and domestic investors that Canada is serious about quantum.”
Julien Camirand Lemyre,
Nord Quantique

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) unveiled the Canadian Quantum Champions Program (CQCP) on Monday morning at quantum firm Xanadu’s offices in Toronto, as part of a push to keep these promising firms in Canada. The program will support four domestic quantum companies—Xanadu, Sherbrooke’s Nord Quantique, Coquitlam, BC’s Photonic, and Montréal’s Anyon Systems—in developing “scalable and useful” quantum computers through up to $23 million CAD in funding per company.

“By strengthening our quantum ecosystem, we are building long-term economic resilience while ensuring Canada’s leadership in science and technology benefits all Canadians,” AI minister Evan Solomon said in a statement.

The funds will come from Canada’s recent $334-million commitment to support the quantum industry promised in November’s federal budget under the newly created Defence Industrial Strategy. Over five years, ISED and other federal agencies are supposed to spend $223 million to support quantum research, and $111 million to “anchor the Canadian quantum industry in Canada and unleash quantum for defence.” Previously, the government had unveiled a national quantum strategy worth $360 million in 2023.

The announcement comes after three of Canadian quantum companies have advanced to the second round of the US Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), a program run by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Xanadu, Nord Quantique, and Photonic all stand to win up to $316 million USD ($445 million CAD) in funding if they can develop a functional, fault-tolerant quantum computer.

It’s unclear if the participating Canadian companies could get more funding through CQCP, though technical milestones must be met before funding is doled out. To assess the companies’ technologies, the National Research Council of Canada will establish the Benchmarking Quantum Platforms initiative.

“This investment is foundational for cultivating a strong quantum computing industry in this country. And it is a clear indication to both foreign and domestic investors that Canada is serious about quantum,” Julien Camirand Lemyre, CEO of Nord Quantique, said in a statement.

Nord Quantique works on superconducting qubits with a special type of error correction at the level of the qubit—the basic programming units of quantum computing. The 50-person team says it has developed a method of computing that keeps the size of a quantum system compact and more energy-efficient than its competitors.

Through the US QBI program, Nord Quantique has received $1 million USD for participating in Phase A. The second phase offers companies an initial $5 million USD with the opportunity to negotiate for another $10 million USD, which Lemyre said would have to be matched by the participating companies.

The self-described “dark horse” of the program is Anyon Systems, according to CEO Alireza Najafi-Yazdi. The 30-person company, founded in 2014, plans to develop a useful quantum computer with a few thousand qubits and built-in error and noise reduction in its hardware. The company hasn’t taken on venture capital but has benefitted from government grants.

“The government wants to make sure companies are anchored in Canada, [and] I fully agree with that sentiment,” Najafi-Yazdi told BetaKit in an interview on Sunday. “We should take sovereignty very seriously.”

Photonic develops silicon spin qubits that it networks together with a focus on solving the problem of scalability for quantum computers. It has raised over $100 million USD in funding so far, including from strategic partner Microsoft.

“We’re pleased that Canada recognizes the strategic importance of quantum, and to be one of the companies invited to participate in Phase 1 of the CQCP,” Photonic CEO Paul Terry said in a statement.

Xanadu has taken a photonic approach to building a useful quantum computer, using light particles to power computations. In November, it announced plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) as part of its capital-raising efforts and goal of building a Canadian quantum data centre by 2029. CEO Christian Weedbrook has previously said that Xanadu would not move to the US.

On The BetaKit Podcast, Weedbrook advocated for a Canadian equivalent to the QBI program. Since the US government has already done due diligence on the participating companies, he said it would be “great to have a sister program or [our] own program” for Canadian companies. Weedbrook said that direct investments are ideal when it comes to federal support for companies like his, rather than loans through things like the Strategic Innovation Fund.

In light of the US QBI program, Solomon told BetaKit in June that Ottawa planned to introduce policies to help keep quantum firms in Canada. He said that keeping quantum intellectual property (IP) and innovation “robust and Canadian” was a “matter of national priority.” Quantum and cybersecurity technologies, he added, are a matter of national security.

Feature image courtesy Josh Scott for BetaKit.