Until seven or eight years ago, very few Canadians were going into the quantum industry. In the last five or seven years, there has been a dramatic change, and the industry is growing, which is a good sign. The question I have and that I don't have an answer for—it will take a team effort—is how do we give all these start‑ups the means they need to grow and become full‑fledged companies? That's where the national quantum strategy needs to come in.
This field of expertise is still in its infancy, and there is much to experiment with. There is no guarantee that we will find the best approach the first time around, but even if we make mistakes along the way, recognizing them will lead us to correct the situation and move forward. That's the idea behind quantum error correction, which Mr. Janik talked about a little bit, but with the commercial side rather than the quantum information side.
I think quantum ecosystems are a way of supporting both academia and businesses. We must ensure that government research laboratories, as well as Defence Research and Development Canada and Natural Resources Canada, are able to join these ecosystems. It would provide a mix of ingredients for the emergence of companies that will form the Canadian quantum industry of the future.