Insider Brief
- Xanadu founder Christian Weedbrook argues that Canada should make quantum literacy a national priority alongside AI education to prepare its workforce and economy for the next wave of technological change.
- Weedbrook writes that broader public understanding of quantum computing could strengthen entrepreneurship, support adoption across industries and help Canada address future cybersecurity challenges posed by quantum technologies.
- Drawing parallels with successful coding and AI education initiatives, Weedbrook suggests Canada can remain competitive in the global quantum race by investing in people and expanding quantum education beyond traditional STEM fields.
- Image: Praveen Kumar Nandagiri on Unsplash
Canada should treat quantum literacy as a national priority before the technology reaches its defining moment, according to Christian Weedbrook, founder and chief executive of Xanadu Quantum Technologies.
Writing in The Globe and Mail, Weedbrook says that Ottawa’s newly announced focus on artificial intelligence education offers a template for preparing Canadians for another emerging technology that could reshape industries, national security and economic competitiveness.
Weedbook writes that the issue not simply as one of scientific advancement but of public understanding. According to Weedbrook, a broader grasp of quantum computing could help ensure that the country develops the workforce, business expertise and public support needed to compete in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Weedbrook traces that argument back to his own experience launching Xanadu. He writes that when he began pitching investors in 2016, quantum computing remained largely unknown outside specialized academic circles. Rejections were frequent, and the path to building the company was uncertain.
“In 2016, I was a little-known founder, an Australian transplant fresh out of the University of Toronto as a postdoctoral research fellow, trying to convince any investor who would listen that quantum computing — a technology that wasn’t yet a household name — was worth a bet,” Weedbrook writes.
Over time, quantum computing moved from an obscure research field into a growing area of national interest. Quantum technology has become part of Canada’s G7 agenda, federal defense planning and broader innovation strategy.
However, public familiarity with the field has not kept pace, according to Weedbrook.
“Although I eventually succeeded, every rejection had been a blow,” Weedbrook writes. “I had so little money in the early days that I was threatened with eviction from my home three times.”
Weedbrook writes that improving public understanding of quantum computing could help future entrepreneurs avoid similar obstacles by making it easier to attract investment, recruit talent and build support for long-term research.
The recommendation comes as Ottawa expands efforts to improve AI literacy. Canada’s new artificial intelligence strategy includes free training opportunities designed to help workers and students adapt to technological change.
According to Weedbrook, the same rationale should apply to quantum computing.
He points to the technology’s potential ability to address problems that overwhelm today’s computers. Quantum computers process information differently from conventional machines by exploiting the behavior of subatomic particles. Researchers believe those systems could eventually simulate chemical reactions, optimize complex networks and solve certain calculations dramatically faster than classical computers.
Weedbrook suggests that such capabilities could accelerate drug discovery and support the development of advanced materials, including improved batteries.
National security concerns also factor heavily into the push for improved quantum literacy.
Canada’s cryptographic agencies and international cybersecurity organizations have warned that sufficiently powerful quantum computers could eventually break many of the encryption systems protecting financial transactions, government communications and sensitive records. Although experts continue to debate exactly when such systems will emerge, governments around the world have begun planning transitions to post-quantum cryptography.
According to Weedbrook, preparing for that transition will require participation beyond a relatively small group of technical specialists.
He also warns that Canada’s position within the global quantum race remains uncertain.
“Right now, the future of quantum computing is being written south of the border,” Weedbrook writes.
He contrasts recent U.S. investments in quantum technologies with Canada’s National Quantum Strategy, which committed hundreds of millions of dollars over multiple years to support research, commercialization and talent development.
The comparison reflects a broader concern, increasingly voiced by Canadian technology leaders, that strong domestic research capabilities may not translate into long-term economic leadership if companies scale elsewhere.
In Weedbrook’s view, matching American spending dollar-for-dollar may not be realistic. Instead, he writes that developing a quantum-literate population could become a competitive advantage.
Canada has previously pursued similar approaches.
He points to CanCode, a federal initiative that supported coding and digital-skills education between 2017 and 2024. According to Weedbrook, the program reached millions of students and hundreds of thousands of teachers while expanding the role of computer science in classrooms.
The country’s emerging AI education initiatives could provide another opportunity.
“The infrastructure to upskill Canadians in AI is being built on a national scale, and these resources can also explain how quantum could work alongside AI,” Weedbrook writes.
The relationship between quantum computing and artificial intelligence has become an increasingly prominent theme across the technology sector.
Researchers are exploring whether quantum processors might eventually improve aspects of machine learning, while telecommunications firms and data-center operators have begun examining how future computing infrastructure could combine classical systems, AI accelerators and quantum resources.
According to Weedbrook, some Canadian companies are already investing in that convergence. Exposing businesses to early quantum applications through cloud access and pilot projects could help organizations identify practical use cases before the technology reaches maturity, he adds.
Potential applications frequently cited by researchers include molecular modeling for pharmaceuticals, materials science and certain optimization problems involving logistics or financial analysis.
Weedbrook also challenges the idea that quantum computing should remain confined to physics departments.
“There’s a misconception that quantum is too complex for non-physicists,” he writes. “But quantum could be a first-year elective open to any undergraduate, the way introductory computer science is open to arts and business students.”
The broader participation of nontechnical communities in AI development, he suggests, demonstrates why emerging technologies benefit from diverse perspectives. Questions involving ethics, privacy, accessibility and social impact increasingly shape public discussions around AI, and Weedbrook argues that quantum computing would benefit from similar engagement before it becomes more widespread.
That approach means emphasizing concepts and applications rather than advanced mathematics when introducing quantum topics to general audiences.
Weedbrook invokes superposition, in which particles exist in multiple possible states until measured, as a metaphor to describe Canada’s position in the global technology landscape..
“There’s a concept in quantum computing called superposition, in which a particle can be in two states at once until the moment it’s observed, before it collapses into one,” Weedbrook writes. “We can wait for another country with deeper pockets to define one of the biggest technological advances of our time, or we can use our ingenuity to lead the world,” Weedbrook writes. “Both futures still exist, but we don’t get to stay between two states forever.”
Read the entire essay here.
