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, including guest Lisa Lambert, CEO of Quantum Industry Canada. No conflicts of interest were identified. The October 2024 meeting summary was adopted, pending any emailed changes to the National Quantum Strategy (NQS) Secretariat.
Update on NQS implementation
The NQS Secretariat provided an update on the NQS rollout. The three mission roadmaps have been completed, and are in the process of being posted on the ISED website, likely early in 2025. A Federal/Provincial meeting on quantum was recently held, and updates were provided.
Several meetings with end-user communities including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Life Insurance Association, and Electricity Canada have been held to raise knowledge about quantum technologies and encourage adoption. In general, members noted that many companies they've spoken with have limited expertise in deep technologies and have focused resources on artificial intelligence (AI) due to a limited awareness of the potential of quantum technologies. One option is to sell the solution (e.g. post-quantum cryptography) rather than the problem.
Preparations are underway for a variety of events supporting the UN International Year of Quantum Technologies (IYQ), including Quantum Days, Quantum Now, and QConnex. In terms of international events, members were debriefed on a recent successful mission to Japan, which included ten companies and many partnership development activities. As well, there was some discussion about the Quantum World Congress in Washington, which was successful at promoting Canadian interests, although some improvements could be made in the future.
Members of the Canadian quantum community recently returned from representing Canada at NATO, where they coordinated efforts to advance the enabling tech/conditions workstream. In a separate callout the NQS Secretariat received a large response from the community wanting to get more involved in NATO work.
In the security space, the Canadian Forum for Digital Infrastructure Resilience (CFDIR) recently released its most recent guidance on quantum-readiness best practices and guidelines, with the goal of preparing for the quantum future.
Update on Advisory Council NQS recommendations
Dr. Stephanie Simmons has been echoing the Advisory Council's recommendations by meeting with numerous federal officials. There was a discussion about the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) in terms of the type of response that the Government could make. As well, there were some positive signs that there is interest in Council recommendations, including on the G7.
There was also discussion on learning from the investments of other countries, and whether their approaches should be emulated.
Discussion on immigration opportunities and the potential for policy/non-technical roadmaps
The NQS Secretariat provided an update on immigration activities related to quantum. IRCC consulted with stakeholders in summer 2024 to identify new prioritization areas for Express Entry. As well, quantum is not currently included in the National Occupational Classification (NOC), and this is an area of work.
Members were pleased by progress although they emphasized that immigration issues are ongoing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that immigration for quantum professionals from certain places is becoming more difficult.
Future of NQS Advisory Council
The discussion focused on ways to improve the effectiveness of the Advisory Council. The NQS Secretariat reminded members that they were appointed to two-year renewable terms, expiring in mid 2025. Members not wishing to continue (for any reason) can let co-chairs know.
Some suggestions for improvement include:
- greater representation on the council for social sciences, defence, and potentially from other elements of the quantum community (e.g. students, and end-users)
- greater inclusion of underrepresented groups (e.g. Indigenous voices)
- ensure a focus on computing vs. sensors/communication
- the role of the Council in informing federal/provincial relations.
Next Steps
Members showed interest in combining their data on immigration to get a better picture of the current landscape.
The next meeting will be held in person in February 2025 during Quantum Days in Toronto. Potential agenda items include:
- renewal of co-chairs
- revisiting the topics of immigration armed with better statistics
- a presentation from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) on social science research and quantum
- the potential for policy/non-technical roadmaps.