Quantum leap: New computer institute a 'big step' for Metro's 'second downtown' south of the Fraser
Credit to Author: Dan Fumano| Date: Wed, 02 Oct 2019 13:00:51 +0000
In discussing Surrey, Bruce Ralston often talks about the “future.”
“In some ways, Surrey is a microcosm of British Columbia, it’s a microcosm of Canada. In a more profound way, it is the future of Canada. All the elements are there,” said Ralston, who is B.C.’s minister of jobs, trade and technology. Companies and universities, he said, “that are looking to the future will want to associate themselves with Surrey, and indeed they are already starting to.”
Today, the provincial government will announce what Ralston calls “an important step” in positioning Surrey City Centre as Metro Vancouver’s “second downtown.”
The announcement is expected to highlight the launch of a computing institute at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey City Centre campus. It is being described as one of the first facilities of its kind dedicated to quantum computing algorithms.
Further details were expected with the formal announcement, but the province is promising $17 million over five years for the institute.
“It’s an important step forward in raising and developing Surrey as the second city centre in the Lower Mainland, as a driver of regional growth,” said Ralston. “And it’s a big step forward in the quantum universe. … We’re going to build here a unique constellation of companies and researchers, that together with SFU and the other educational institutions, will establish British Columbia as a leader in quantum computing.”
Quantum computers can solve problems far beyond the capacity of today’s traditional computers and the field is recognized as increasingly important. A report in May from the U.S.-based Boston Consulting Group said the problem-solving potential of quantum computing has corporate executives and hedge fund managers “abuzz at the dawn of the era of quantum computing.”
“Their enthusiasm is not misplaced,” the report says. “In the coming decades, we expect productivity gains by end users of quantum computing, in the form of both cost savings and revenue opportunities, to surpass $450 billion annually.”
B.C. government officials hope the creation of the Surrey institute will produce more local tech talent, while developing quantum computing technology that can eventually boost the economic prospects of other key sectors of the province’s economy, with advances in the health science, clean technology, forestry and mining industries.
The formal announcement is expected this morning at SFU in Surrey City Centre, where Ralston will appear with Premier John Horgan and figures from B.C.’s tech community. The institute will also include the involvement of other B.C. universities, including the University of B.C., University of Victoria, Thompson Rivers University and Kwantlen University.
Ralston is the MLA for Surrey-Whalley, the riding that includes the area around Surrey City Centre.
The idea of promoting Surrey as the region’s “second downtown” isn’t new, and predates Ralston’s time in provincial politics. He remembers discussion of that subject when he was a Surrey city councillor in the 1980s and 1990s.
In January 1990, The Vancouver Sun reported on a plan to make Surrey’s Whalley area into what then-mayor Bob Bose called “the province’s second city centre.”
“It will rival the downtown centre of Vancouver,” Bose said at the time.
There’s a “compelling” case for promoting Surrey as a “second downtown,” especially as Vancouver becomes even more expensive and crowded, said Jock Finlayson, executive vice-president of the B.C. Business Council.
“In our view here at the Business Council, the future of the Lower Mainland economy is pretty critical to the future of the entire province, so we’re pleased the B.C. government is perhaps going to play more of a leadership role in trying to shape the environment for economic development here in Metro, because we need it,” Finlayson said.
With Surrey’s location near the American border, it’s also expected to play an important role in the so-called “Cascadia mega-region,” which encompasses the urban centres of B.C., Washington and Oregon. Earlier this year, when the Washington state Department of Transportation released a business case analysis for a high-speed rail connection linking Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. The plan considers placing the northern terminus for the route in Surrey.
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum also indicated his support for the quantum project. In an emailed statement Tuesday, McCallum wrote: “City council and I look forward to working closely with the B.C. government to expedite this visionary project that will benefit not only the people of Surrey, but all who call B.C. home.”
“Surrey’s City Centre has established itself as a hub for innovation,” he wrote. “Our location, along with our expertise and experience, make Surrey the ideal place to advance technology and innovation in the province.”