Government of Canada Announces Grant Recipients in Support of Canada's National Quantum Strategy

Insider Brief

Canadian government announced an investment of close to $51 million awarded to 75 recipients as part of the country’s National Quantum Strategy.
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the awards, made possible through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada‘s (NSERC) Alliance grants and Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) grants.
The projects announced today aim to address important challenges in quantum science.

PRESS RELEASE — Quantum science and technologies will transform our society and economy, ultimately changing how we live our everyday lives. That’s why the Government of Canada introduced recently the first National Quantum Strategy because we are aiming to maintain Canada’s leadership through its implementation. We are already planning to invest over many decades to position our country as a global leader in the field.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced an investment of close to $51 million awarded to 75 recipients through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada‘s (NSERC) Alliance grants and Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) grants.

The projects announced today aim to address important challenges in quantum science, while supporting the development of quantum technologies in a variety of areas, including quantum algorithms and encryption, quantum communications, quantum computing, quantum materials, and quantum sensing. They will enhance Canada’s quantum capabilities through domestic and international research collaborations.

The awarded projects are supported through the following NSERC funding opportunities:

Alliance Quantum grants – over $6 million awarded to eight projects seeking to reinforce, coordinate and scale up Canada’s research capabilities in quantum science and technology through medium-scale domestic research partnerships between one or more academic researchers and organizations in the private, public or not-for-profit sectors.
Alliance Consortia Quantum grants – over $38 million awarded to eight projects that will help develop large-scale domestic research partnerships in quantum science and technology through the coordination of academic teams across Canada’s regional quantum research and innovation hubs, in collaboration with partner organizations from various sectors including federal laboratories, with the additional aim to connect with industrial applications and government needs.
Alliance International Quantum grants – close to $1.4 million to 56 projects to help Canadian researchers establish and grow international research collaborations and projects in quantum science and technology.
CREATE program – close to $5 million to three teams to develop, attract and retain top quantum talent in Canada. Funding was awarded through the annual CREATE competition, which also announced its full list of recipients.

Altogether, Alliance and CREATE grants will enable the advanced training of more than 900 graduates and postdoctoral fellows and connect Canada’s leading quantum researchers in national and international research collaborations.

To further secure Canada’s leadership in quantum science and technologies, NSERC will continue to support the implementation of the National Quantum Strategy by offering funding opportunities through the Alliance grants.

Quotes

“Our government knows that the research of today will be the economy of tomorrow, and that is why we are one of the first countries to advance quantum research. By investing in research and talent under the National Quantum Strategy, we are continuing to advance success in Canadian innovation and talent. The projects awarded today are deepening collaborations with domestic and international partners to help Canadian researchers take advantage of opportunities that arise and to solidify our leadership in this fast-growing field.” –– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Congratulations to the first round of NSERC grant recipients in support of Canada’s National Quantum Strategy. NSERC is proud to be a key player in the Strategy, using the success of the Alliance and CREATE programs grants to help advance this extremely important field of research and maintain Canada’s global leadership role in it.” –– Prof. Alejandro Adem, FRSC, President, NSERC

Quick facts

Budget 2021 committed $360 million to support the National Quantum Strategy, enabling the Government of Canada to build on previous investments in the sector to advance the emerging field of quantum technologies.
Overall, the National Quantum Strategy will amplify Canada’s strengths in quantum research, develop quantum-ready talent, and grow Canadian quantum-ready technologies and companies.
NSERC has received $137.9 million from the National Quantum Strategy to support the Alliance and CREATE funding opportunities.
The Government of Canada invested more than $1 billion in quantum research and science from 2009 to 2020—mainly through competitive granting agency programs, including Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada programs and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund—to help establish Canada as a global leader in quantum science.
The Alliance Consortia Quantum grants and the Alliance Quantum grants are supporting the research and training activities of 72 academic researchers across 14 Canadian post-secondary institutions, who are collaborating with 32 partner organizations from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.
The Alliance International Quantum grants are supporting 63 academic researchers across 24 Canadian post-secondary institutions, who are collaborating with 61 researchers from 55 international academic institutions in 16 countries.