Canada launches CAD $92M quantum tech defence initiative

The Canadian government has launched a new quantum technology funding program worth up to CAD $92 million, as it seeks to anchor leading companies and researchers in the country and link quantum computing more closely with defence and security priorities.

The Canadian Quantum Champions Program (CQCP) will support domestic firms that are working on fault-tolerant, industrial-scale quantum computers. The initiative is part of a previously announced CAD $334.3 million package over five years that targets the national quantum ecosystem.

The government said the first phase of the CQCP will concentrate on companies developing machines capable of showing industrial applications. It said the focus includes sectors such as defence, cryptography, advanced materials, signal processing and energy.

Anyons Systems, Nord Quantique, Photonic and Xanadu Quantum Technologies have each signed agreements for funding of up to CAD $23 million in the first phase. All four firms are headquartered in Canada.

The government said the program aims to keep Canadian quantum businesses and researchers in the country and to ensure that quantum technologies deliver economic and security benefits domestically.

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) will support the program through a new Benchmarking Quantum Platform. The NRC will assess participating firms' technical progress and work closely with them throughout the life of the initiative.

The NRC said it will use an interdisciplinary, science-based approach for the assessments. It said it will benchmark underlying quantum technologies and measure performance against agreed milestones.

Officials set the announcement in the context of a broader push around defence industrial policy. The government has previously outlined a forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy and has earmarked CAD $6.6 billion over five years for the wider defence industrial base, starting in 2025-26.

Canada has also committed to increasing defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP. The government said quantum computing and related technologies will form part of that shift.

The Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, said the funding aims to reinforce domestic research leadership.

"Canada's investment in the Canadian Quantum Champions Program is a bold step to anchor our world-class talent and companies here at home, helping drive innovation in a field that will transform our economy and daily lives. By strengthening our quantum ecosystem, we are building long-term economic resilience while ensuring Canada's leadership in science and technology benefits all Canadians," said Solomon.

Quantum Industry Canada, which represents companies in the sector, said the program is designed to convert early scientific advantages into long-term infrastructure.

"Quantum technologies-computing, sensing and communications-are now understood as strategic infrastructure that will underpin economic competitiveness and national security for decades to come. The Canadian Quantum Champions Program is designed to ensure that Canada translates its early leadership in quantum computing into scalable, sovereign capability with long-term value. This is about not merely inventing the future but also building it here, in Canada," said Lisa Lambert, CEO of Quantum Industry Canada.

Industry landscape

Canada has several quantum computing firms that already operate internationally. These include Xanadu Quantum Technologies, Anyon Systems, Nord Quantique and Photonic.

The country also has a number of quantum hardware and software developers, such as 1QBit, Open Quantum Design and Q-Block Computing. D-Wave, which was founded in Canada, maintains significant operations in British Columbia.

The government cited projections that the domestic quantum sector could contribute CAD $17.7 billion to GDP by 2045. The sector could also support more than 157,000 jobs by the same date.

The CQCP will roll out in multiple phases. The government will confirm funding levels, milestones and detailed requirements for later phases as the program progresses.

The government said it expects industrial-scale, fault-tolerant systems to address complex problems that are hard for classical computers. It described applications in logistics, finance, materials science, climate modelling and pharmaceuticals.

The NRC Benchmarking Quantum Platform will publish its assessment methods as it refines them with participating firms. The government said those assessments will inform future funding and policy decisions under the later phases of the CQCP.