Government of Canada announces support for southern Ontario’s quantum technology sector
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FedDev Ontario invests more than $17.2 million in 12 quantum projects in Waterloo, Ottawa, Toronto and surrounding regions, supporting 150 jobs
February 22, 2024 – Waterloo, Ontario
Quantum technology is at the leading edge of science and innovation and will have a transformative impact on key sectors, such as computing, communications, security, health care and automotive. Canadian entrepreneurs are well-positioned to take advantage of these opportunities, and the Government of Canada is making strategic investments to help them grow quantum-ready technologies, and solidify Canada’s global leadership in this area.
Today, on behalf of the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario); the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Member of Parliament for Waterloo; along with Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Small Business and to the Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, announced an investment of over $17.2 million through the Regional Quantum Initiative. With this support,12 innovative companies within southern Ontario’s quantum sector will advance and commercialize their quantum products and solutions for domestic and global markets, and support up to 150 jobs. This investment is an important step in advancing the Government of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy.
Parliamentary Secretary May and MP Chagger made the announcement at Waterloo-based High Q Technologies Inc. (High Q), where they were joined by Valerie Bradford, Member of Parliament for Kitchener South–Hespeler, and Tim Louis, Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Conestoga. High Q is a women-led, innovative life sciences technology company that uses quantum-enabled systems to solve complex problems in protein dynamics, including shortening the timeline to discover new drugs that will help Canadians. As part of this investment, High Q is receiving an investment of up to $3.75-million to support product enhancements to launch their technology into the biopharmaceutical market. These improvements will support their transition from academic use to adoption by biopharmaceutical companies, aiding the process of discovering new forms of medicine.
This investment includes support for Toronto-based GoodLabs Studio Inc., an advanced software engineering company that focuses on machine-learning, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technology to solve real-world problems in the health and finance sectors. The company is receiving a contribution of nearly $845,000 to further develop a quantum payment optimizer that works to reduce time and security risks related to the transfer of large payments between financial institutions. Further details on all 12 projects receiving support can be found in the backgrounder.
Southern Ontario is one of four regional hubs of Canadian expertise in the field of quantum technologies, with strengths in quantum computing, materials, sensors and imaging, communications and cyber security. The Government of Canada will continue to make investments that grow the economy and ensure this growing sector is well-positioned to transform research into products for Canadians.
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