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<\/a><\/p>\nBy USHIO INC.\u00a0 11.03.2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t By Chee Ping Lee, managing director of Advanced Packaging Strategic Marketing at Lam Research\u00a0\u00a0 11.03.2026<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t By EE Times Taiwan\u00a0 11.03.2026<\/p>\n Defense procurement presents path to adoption<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s Defense Industrial Strategy identifies quantum sensing, communications, and computing as sovereign capabilities. At an Empire Club discussion earlier this year, military and industry leaders emphasized deployment and procurement, including the need to connect companies with operational problems rather than wait for fully mature technologies.<\/p>\n Released in 2023, Quantum 2030\u2014the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces\u2019 quantum science and technology strategy implementation plan\u2014sets out a roadmap for developing prototypes ready for field testing by 2030.<\/p>\n Julien Camirand Lemyre, CEO and co-founder of Sherbrooke-based Nord Quantique, sees defense as an adoption channel that can support earlier-stage development and create opportunities for Canadian suppliers. \u201cHow do we support earlier-stage-of-development technology that sometimes has been underfunded in Canada?\u201d he asked. \u201cI think [the Defense Industrial Strategy] is well-positioned to do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n But purchasing equipment is only part of the task. \u201cIt is important for Canada to be prepared not only to buy quantum computers but also to use this technology,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That distinction matters because quantum technologies do not share one commercialization timetable. Julien Chosson, Canada quantum lead at IBM, describes quantum sensing as \u201cprobably the most mature technology,\u201d while quantum computing has yet to translate into commercial applications. \u201cIt\u2019s still part of the research path,\u201d he said. Where defense can help computing, Chosson said, is by \u201chelping build a stronger ecosystem. Until we have that, there is not much we\u2019ll be able to develop for the defense sector on the quantum computing side.\u201d<\/p>\n J\u00e9r\u00f4me Bourassa, CEO and co-founder of Sherbrooke-based Qubic Technologies, wants mission-focused programs for quantum sensing alongside support for computing. The Canadian Quantum Champions Program is \u201ca good start,\u201d he told EE Times. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s enough, and I think I would like to see something similar but in other areas, so think about the defense-related technologies and quantum sensing in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n Bourassa said companies need capital, closer ties with the Canadian Armed Forces, and government partners willing to tolerate technical risk. \u201cNot everyone is going to win. Not everything is going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n Qubic\u2019s progress illustrates how procurement can bridge development and customer evaluation. In September, the company announced a federal contract worth up to C$1.5 million (~$1 million) to supply nine cryogenic amplifiers, along with components and software, for testing. The agreement follows its C$3.5 million (~$2.5 million) seed round in June and the sale of cryogenic amplifiers to Quantum Machines.<\/p>\n Capital meets the scaling challenge<\/p>\n For computing developers, commercial success depends on more than demonstrating quantum behavior. Error correction, cooling, connectivity, and manufacturing must come together at an economically workable scale.<\/p>\n Nord Quantique is tackling the overhead associated with quantum error correction. In most platforms, Camirand Lemyre said, error correction requires 100\u00d7 to 1,000\u00d7 more physical qubits. \u201cThis is how you end up with the need for a million qubits to get to a useful quantum computer.\u201d<\/p>\n The company\u2019s approach builds redundancy into individual bosonic qubits, aiming to reduce the additional hardware needed to protect quantum information. \u201cWhat quantum error correction needs is not more qubits,\u201d Camirand Lemyre said. \u201cWe need some form of redundancy.\u201d Some competing systems will cost billions to build and will be the size of a data center, he said.<\/p>\n Camirand Lemyre specified that Nord Quantique\u2019s goal is a useful system costing tens of millions of dollars and occupying a small room.<\/p>\n Qubic, which connects computing infrastructure with potential sensing and communications applications, addresses another constraint: extracting weak microwave signals without generating excessive noise or heat. Bourassa said Qubic\u2019s superconducting amplifier is designed to dissipate roughly one ten-thousandth as much heat as conventional semiconductor amplifiers. Such semiconductor amplifiers can account for as much as half of a refrigerator\u2019s cooling budget, he said.<\/p>\n He said reducing that heat load could free cooling capacity for additional qubits and improve the economics of superconducting systems. \u201cIf we can\u2019t make a quantum computing infrastructure that is economically sound \u2026 it won\u2019t happen,\u201d Bourassa said.<\/p>\n In British Columbia, Photonic\u2019s financing shows the scale of capital now assembling around quantum computing. The company\u2019s final investment close in May expanded the round first announced in January to more than C$275 million (~$200 million) and brought its total capital raised to more than C$475 million (~$350 million). New participants included BDC, EDC, Bell Ventures, and InBC, alongside earlier investors including RBC, Telus, Microsoft, and BCI.<\/p>\n Photonic combines silicon spin qubits with optical connections in its Entanglement First architecture. Its strategy is to distribute quantum computation across interconnected modules, using connectivity to support scaling and efficient error correction. Its work with Telus also links quantum development to existing fiber infrastructure. These are pathways toward commercial-scale systems, not evidence that the end goal has already been reached.<\/p>\n Photonic\u2019s latest proposal extends that scaling strategy into domestic manufacturing. Project Vanguard envisions a shared, multi-tenant semiconductor facility in Canada costing up to C$500 million (~$350.5 million) and serving quantum computing, AI, aerospace, defense, advanced sensing, and semiconductor packaging. Selected for the Canada Investment Summit Prospectus, the proposed facility is intended to help companies move from prototypes to production at home, retain greater control over intellectual property and supply chains, and build Canadian capacity in advanced fabrication, packaging, and technical workforce development.<\/p>\n Preparing users before the hardware arrives<\/p>\n Canada also needs organizations capable of identifying valuable problems, evaluating quantum approaches, and integrating them with classical computing.<\/p>\n Chosson said there is a difference between promising research and demonstrated commercial returns when it comes to IBM\u2019s application development work: \u201cWe do not have an ROI yet. We do not have a demonstrated quantum advantage yet. We\u2019re getting close and we have great research that\u2019s very promising. It\u2019s not been achieved yet.\u201d<\/p>\n He said industry must bring economically relevant problems, while universities contribute expertise and train the people who will solve them. \u201cRight now, the best way to do this is through industry-academia collaboration. All the talent is sitting in our academia, so we really need that collaboration to spark.\u201d<\/p>\n The University of Saskatchewan\u2019s acquisition of a quantum computer provides one model. Its open-architecture system combines a nine-qubit Rigetti processor with control and automation technology and a dilution refrigerator from Edmonton-based Zero Point Cryogenics. The university intends to connect the machine with expertise in vaccines, food security, energy, and other disciplines rather than treat it as an isolated quantum research tool.<\/p>\n Cloud access provides another route. CMC Microsystems\u2019 Quantum Computing Sandbox, funded through the five-year, C$217 million (~$156 million) FABrIC program, combines supported access to quantum platforms with application expertise for Canadian researchers, startups, and small and midsized enterprises. The objective is to develop industry-relevant applications and practical experience without requiring every participant to build its own infrastructure.<\/p>\n In September, Quandela joined that effort through an agreement with CMC, adding a photonic computing option that includes access to a quantum processor located in Canada. The sandbox addresses an important adoption gap: Hardware access alone does not give users the expertise to judge where quantum computing might help.<\/p>\n Camirand Lemyre expects materials and molecular simulation to be among the first beneficiaries as useful hardware emerges. Nord Quantique is working with an OLED manufacturer interested in evaluating molecules before committing to laboratory testing. \u201cIt would be great if we could simulate those molecules before we actually have to spend all that time in the lab,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Chosson pointed to Canadian research in life sciences, energy, and finance while cautioning that these efforts remain exploratory.<\/p>\n Building a national quantum industry<\/p>\n The commercialization challenge also extends to Canada\u2019s semiconductor sector.<\/p>\n FABrIC-backed photonics and quantum projects include Aeponyx\u2019s development of low-loss silicon nitride photonic circuits for quantum applications under Pasqal\u2019s ownership. Shared fabrication and packaging infrastructure can help turn specialized research into manufacturable components.<\/p>\n Rafal Janik, COO of Toronto-based Xanadu, argued that quantum investment also builds semiconductor capabilities through cleanrooms, tooling, packaging processes, and trained personnel. He sees those capabilities as valuable beyond any individual quantum architecture while calling for better national coordination to avoid duplicating work across institutions.<\/p>\n Coordination need not mean isolation. At UBC\u2019s Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, quantum-materials research and international collaboration connect Canadian expertise with partners in Germany, Japan, and elsewhere.<\/p>\n Camirand Lemyre similarly rejects a single-hub approach. Sherbrooke, Waterloo, Toronto, and British Columbia contribute different strengths, and Canada needs to build not only a pipeline of early-stage companies but the workforce needed for production and engineering as the industry matures, he said. \u201cWhoever builds a quantum computer that is useful is a global company. \u2026 It\u2019s not about one single hub; it\u2019s really about building a national champion.\u201d<\/p>\n For Bourassa, the remaining gap is the investment required to retain the value of decades of Canadian research. \u201cNow it\u2019s a matter of how we make sure that we can create the best possible value from all the research investment that has been done over the past several decades in Canada and making sure that it is retained in Canada,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Government support has been good and instrumental, but Bourassa said it could be a lot better in the future as international competition intensifies. Commercialization requires a further commitment to companies, infrastructure, and talent, he added.<\/p>\n Camirand Lemyre echoed that concern: \u201cWe have not been a country that is known to take large risk on their companies.\u201d Canada\u2019s next test is whether its funding programs, procurement opportunities, and shared facilities can sustain that transition\u2014not merely supporting discovery but also keeping the resulting capabilities and economic value at home.<\/p>\n Also read:<\/p>\n Canadian Startup Aims to Be Quantum\u2019s \u2018Picks\u2019 and \u2018Shovels\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Canada Accelerates Quantum Aspirations<\/a><\/p>\n Xanadu Builds Out Canadian Quantum Infrastructure<\/a><\/p>\n QUANTUM<\/a>, QUANTUM COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>, QUANTUM COMPUTING<\/a>, QUANTUM SENSING<\/a>, SUPERCONDUTING QUANTUM COMPUTERS<\/a>\n <\/p>\n NORD QUANTIQUE<\/a>, PHOTONIC<\/a>, QUBIC TECHNOLOGIES<\/a>, XANADU<\/a>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\/\/php echo do_shortcode(‘[responsivevoice_button voice=”US English Male” buttontext=”Listen to Post”]’) ?> Canada\u2019s quantum sector has already demonstrated that it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[61,60,248,3309,23047,243,23049,82,285753],"class_list":["post-674562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-physics","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-physics","tag-quantum","tag-quantum-communications","tag-quantum-computing","tag-quantum-sensing","tag-science","tag-superconduting-quantum-computers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Five](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Lam-Co-packaged-Optics-600x340-1.jpg\")
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