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Canada's National Quantum Strategy: 360M CAD and Michele Mosca's Legacy

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Why Canada Punches Above Its Weight

Canada's National Quantum Strategy commits $360 million CAD over 7 years, a fraction of US or Chinese investment. Yet Canada is one of the three or four global authorities on Post Quantum Cryptography migration, thanks largely to Dr. Michele Mosca at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) Waterloo, whose 2015 formulation of the X+Y>Z theorem defines how every security team frames the PQC timeline.

Launch and Budget

The National Quantum Strategy was officially launched January 2023 by Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Funding commitment: $360 million CAD over 7 years starting from the Budget 2021 commitment.

Allocation:

Research: $141 million CAD
Talent: $45 million CAD
Commercialization: $169 million CAD

Three missions:

Quantum computing and quantum software.
Quantum communication and post-quantum cryptography.
Quantum sensors.

Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) Waterloo

The IQC at the University of Waterloo is Canada's flagship quantum research institution. Dr. Michele Mosca is co-founder and has served as deputy director for most of the institute's history. Mosca's contributions to PQC and the cryptographic community are among the most cited globally:

2015 IACR ePrint 2015/1075 formalized the X+Y>Z theorem (Mosca's theorem / inequality).
Global Risk Institute Quantum Threat Timeline Reports (annual since 2019, Mosca and evolutionQ).
Co-founder of evolutionQ, a PQC migration consultancy.
Frequent advisor to NSA, NIST, NCSC, and ENISA on PQC policy.

Perimeter Institute

Located adjacent to the University of Waterloo, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics hosts quantum computing and foundational physics research. It is complementary to IQC's applied work and produces peer-reviewed contributions in quantum information theory.

CIFAR

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research runs a multi-decade quantum information program that has produced many of the world's leading PQC researchers.

Commercial Ecosystem

D-Wave Systems (Burnaby, BC): pioneer of quantum annealing. Advantage 5000+ qubits (annealer, not gate-based). Public on NYSE.
Xanadu (Toronto): photonic quantum computing. DARPA QBI Stage B participant.
Photonic Inc (Vancouver): silicon spin qubit platform. DARPA QBI Stage B participant.
ISARA (Waterloo): pioneering commercial PQC since 2015.
Nord Quantique (Sherbrooke): superconducting qubit company. DARPA QBI Stage B participant.
evolutionQ: Mosca's consulting firm for PQC migration.

Canada's PQC Influence

Canada disproportionately shapes global PQC standards and policy:

Mosca's theorem is used by every major migration planning document (NIST, NSA, CISA, ENISA, NCSC).
IQC researchers contributed to several NIST PQC candidates and evaluations.
Global Risk Institute annual surveys are the standard CRQC timeline reference.
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security publishes PQC guidance aligned with NIST FIPS 203/204/205.

Implications for PQC Migration

Canadian organizations should follow Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) guidance alongside NIST.
Five Eyes coordination (Canada, US, UK, Australia, NZ) ensures intelligence-community PQC alignment.
Canadian academic research access (IQC, Perimeter, CIFAR) provides high-quality PQC training for Canadian teams.
Canadian commercial providers (ISARA, evolutionQ) offer PQC consulting with deep standards-body relationships.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Canada's National Quantum Strategy launched?

January 2023 by Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Budget of $360 million CAD over 7 years, committed via Budget 2021.

Who is Michele Mosca?

Canadian mathematician, co-founder and deputy director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at University of Waterloo. Author of the X+Y>Z PQC migration theorem (IACR ePrint 2015/1075) and co-author of the annual Global Risk Institute Quantum Threat Timeline survey.

What is evolutionQ?

A PQC migration consultancy co-founded by Michele Mosca. It advises enterprises and governments on post-quantum cryptography migration planning.

What is ISARA?

A Waterloo-based commercial PQC software company, one of the earliest dedicated PQC providers. Acquired by Synergy Quantum in 2024 but continues under the ISARA brand.

Sources

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Originally published at quantumsequrity.com/blog/canada-quantum-strategy.