Microsoft's Majorana 2 quantum computing chip, which the company designed with help from AI.John Brecher/Reuters
Sheema Khan is an author who holds a PhD from Harvard University in chemical physics, along with numerous patents on drug delivery technology.
I fell in love with Schrödinger’s equation at Marianopolis College in Quebec. That love took me to courses in quantum mechanics at McGill and later at Harvard, where I would spend many delightful hours studying Feynman diagrams in the physics library. The mathematical elegance and physical implications of those equations were mesmerizing. Just a few years prior, Richard Feynman had first introduced the idea of quantum computing, arguing that traditional computers could not properly simulate quantum mechanical systems.
Today, the next computing disruption is on the horizon, based on the peculiarities of quantum physics. Today’s computers operate based on bits, the smallest units of data, which have a value of either 0 or 1. Quantum computers, on the other hand, operate on “qubits” (quantum bits); a qubit can be 0, 1 or any combination in between. If a bit is like a flat coin that is either heads or tails, a qubit is like a spinning coin, neither heads nor tails, until it lands.
Prosperity's path: Seize the quantum future – or let the U.S. own it. Which way, Canada?
Another peculiarity is that two qubits are correlated, even at large distances of separation (a phenomenon called entanglement), which is not the case for bits. Imagine two coins that are instantaneously linked, so if you flip one in Toronto, you immediately know the outcome of the other in Istanbul. Such quantum properties allow for quantum computers to store vast amounts of data, and process that data in far less time than today’s supercomputers.
This has led to breakthroughs by American industry leaders. In 2019, Google claimed that its quantum computer had performed a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken the world’s fastest supercomputer 10,000 years to perform. Since 2024, the company has made further breakthroughs in quantum chips and a quantum algorithm, thereby enhancing computing capabilities.
Given the complexity of these nascent machines, they won’t be available for everyday tasks such as e-mails and PowerPoint presentations. Instead, they will be used for highly complex tasks such as designing new medicines and materials at a molecular level, optimizing global supply chains, and encryption. Militaries, especially in the U.S. and China, are already exploiting this technology in ways that remain classified.
While these two countries are currently regarded as world leaders, Canada has been a quantum computing pioneer for decades, having an outsized influence relative to its population. We have deep research expertise, a strong talent pipeline, and we lead in a few areas of quantum technologies. For example, the Institute for Quantum Computing and the Perimeter Institute (both at the University of Waterloo), along with Université de Sherbrooke, McGill and University of Toronto, have produced world-class talent. Toronto-based Xanadu is a leader in quantum computing based on photons. Founded in Burnaby, B.C., D-Wave is one of the oldest quantum computing companies in the world, having designed machines to tackle specific mathematical problems.
In 2023, the Canadian government released its National Quantum Strategy, which aims to develop and harness our rich quantum ecosystem. It has three key missions: making our country a world leader in the field, ensuring the privacy and cybersecurity of Canadians, and making quantum sensing technology a key part of our digital infrastructure. These mission objectives will be based on supporting research, developing talent and commercialization. In 2025, McKinsey estimated the quantum technologies market to reach US$100-billion by 2035.
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While it is exciting to be on the cusp of a promising new technology, we should learn from the pitfalls of another one – namely AI. Some of its leaders are already sounding the alarm, including Bill Gates, who is worried about the lack of preparedness by governments and experts in confronting AI’s existential challenges. He has warned about massive job disruptions, the replacement of human cognition, the stunting of children’s social skills and critical thinking, and rogue AI models that can empower nefarious actors to carry out cyberattacks and bioterrorism.
AI requires processing massive amounts of data. Given that quantum computing promises to enhance the speed at which AI systems can develop, shouldn’t our national computing strategy include a well-considered plan that includes safeguards against possible catastrophic outcomes? Shouldn’t broad government regulations be put in place now, rather than when it’s too late? Have we not learned from the AI example that private pioneers value profit over the public good?
Such deep issues need to be tackled multilaterally, with stakeholders across the globe. As an example, while our pivot toward Europe is based on diversifying trade, we can use this opportunity to forge an alliance that will marshal quantum technologies for good, while implementing safeguards to protect humanity against unfettered development.
Let’s act now. AI has already proven that the stakes are too high for complacency.