Quantum Advisory Council
Participants
Co-chairs
- Raymond Laflamme
- Stephanie Simmons
Members
- Ian D'Souza
- Andrew Fursman
- Shohini Ghose
- David Gosset
- Martin Laforest
- Lindsay Leblanc
- Atefeh Mashatan
- Christian Weedbrook
Guests
- Lisa Lambert, CEO, Quantum Industry Canada
Welcome and housekeeping
The co-chairs welcomed members to the meeting and introduced Lisa Lambert, CEO of Quantum Industry Canada. No conflicts of interest were identified. Any proposed changes to the March 2024 meeting Record of Decision should be sent to the National Quantum Strategy (NQS) Secretariat.
Advice on future priorities
Council members reiterated the many challenges faced by Canada and its quantum community, including attracting investment and end users, restrictive eligibility requirements for business support programming, securing Canada's key infrastructure, and better understanding quantum's societal impacts.
To move forward, the co-chairs instructed members to provide key advice that would guide the implementation of the NQS as well as future programming. For example, members noted that the NQS needs to help boost demand for quantum technologies, whether by "procuring the roadmap" by expanding the federal government's role, correctly matching program offerings to the realities of current quantum technologies to help scale up, or through programs to educate potential end users on quantum's current and future use cases. NQS implementation will also need to highlight priority areas for quantum sensors.
Members highlighted the need to secure Canada's infrastructure, including upgrading critical networks (e.g. banking, energy, and transportation) and educating decision makers regarding the vulnerabilities introduced by quantum technologies. The NQS Secretariat could also fund prize-based competitions that test the limits of current and proposed quantum-safe solutions.
Members also discussed the creation of a quantum "centre of gravity" within Canada, including proposed models (e.g. anchor company, national research center, hub-and-spoke model, specialized fabs) and how to get there (e.g. incentives, talent recruitments, past tech successes). Such approaches will help focus Canada's quantum efforts and attract and retain worldwide talent.
On the academic side, it was proposed that the NQS will need to continue support for fundamental research. More generally, it will also need to broaden funding to support research into societal impacts of quantum technologies and its responsible use.
Next steps
The NQS Secretariat will meet with the co-chairs to explore options on the best way to submit the Council's advice through governmental channels.
The NQS Secretariat will also finalize the roadmaps and welcomes continued input from members and the community.
The next meeting will be held virtually in fall 2024. Potential agenda items to discuss include:
- a presentation from SSHRC on social science research and quantum
- immigration opportunities
- working with multinational corporations
- potential for policy/non-technical roadmaps.