The Empire Club of Canada
Hybrid
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Quantum technologies are rapidly moving from concept to capability and are establishing themselves as a foundation of both modern defence and economic competitiveness. From NORAD modernization to NATO’s quantum strategy, allied nations are positioning defence as a key partner and first adopter of these dual-use technologies—integrating quantum sensing, communications, and emerging quantum computing capabilities into their core missions.
New federal investments signal the beginning of a similar shift in Canada, with quantum being positioned as a key engine of Canada’s economic growth and national security.
On February 24, 2026, the Empire Club of Canada will present Quantum Power and National Security: Canada’s New Strategic Imperative. In this timely address, Lisa Lambert, CEO of Quantum Industry Canada (QIC), will examine how quantum capabilities will shape Canada’s economic outlook and security posture, what sovereign capacity is required to protect critical systems, and how Canada can position itself as a strategic contributor within the G7 and NATO alliances.
Further insights and perspectives will follow from a distinguished panel moderated by The Honourable Erin O’Toole, P.C., C.D., and featuring Francesco Bova, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management; David Roy-Guay, Founder and CEO of SBQuantum; and Lieutenant-General Darcy Molstad, CD, Commander Canadian Joint Forces Command.
Lisa Lambert is the inaugural CEO of Quantum Industry Canada (QIC), the country’s business-led consortium uniting quantum technology companies and strategic partners to accelerate innovation and build a resilient quantum economy that advances Canada’s security, prosperity, and global leadership.
A recognized leader in innovation strategy, her career spans pivotal roles at the Council of Canadian Academies, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, TRIUMF, and high-profile collaborations with global thought leaders including Seth Godin, Roger Martin, and Margaret Atwood.
Lisa holds leadership and advisory positions across business, innovation, and defence organizations worldwide, including serving on the Executive Committee of the International Council of Quantum Industry Associations (ICQIA). She advises on dual-use considerations for quantum and its convergence with other disruptive and emerging technologies in multiple international forums, including the G7-led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction and the NATO Transatlantic Quantum Community (NATO TQC).
Erin O’Toole is the President and Managing Director of ADIT North America and serves on the executive committee of ADIT Group. ADIT Group is a Paris-based business intelligence firm that provides global investment due diligence, operational support and economic diplomacy services around the world. He assumed this role after having served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and a Member of Parliament for a decade. In 2021, Erin ran to be the Prime Minister of Canada in the general election held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenging circumstances of the election, Mr. O’Toole won the popular vote and advanced a series of policies that continue to resonate in Canadian politics today.
First elected in a 2012 by-election. Mr. O’Toole was quickly promoted to Parliamentary Secretary for International Trade, where he helped the Canadian government finalize trade agreements around the world. He was also responsible for corporate social responsibility efforts for the resource sector and regulatory cooperation with the United States. Promoted to cabinet a year later, Erin modernized the Veterans Affairs department and was a leading voice for the Conservative government on defence and national security issues. In opposition he served as Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs before becoming Leader of the Opposition.
Erin is one of Canada’s most respected thought leaders on economic and foreign policy issues because of his public service, his private sector experience and his service in uniform. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Erin served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force flying on the Sea King helicopter in support of naval operations. A graduate of Dalhousie Law School, Mr. O’Toole practiced law at Stikeman Elliott and Heenan Blaikie in Toronto and spent five years as in-house counsel for Procter & Gamble. In 2025, Erin was appointed a Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute, a respected Washington, D.C.-based think tank dedicated to advancing innovative public policy solutions.
Erin and his wife Rebecca live in Toronto and are the proud parents of Mollie and Jack. He continues to comment on geopolitical and economic competitiveness issues in Canada and hosts the popular Blue Skies podcast exploring these issues.
Francesco is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. His research focuses on the economics of quantum technologies. This research includes his co-authored work on quantum economic advantage, the commercial applications of quantum computing, and the economics of open-source quantum computing. Francesco is also involved in Rotman’s Creative Destruction Lab as the Chief Quantum Economist for its quantum stream. As one of the world’s first accelerators for quantum startups, CDL-Quantum has played an outsized role in supporting quantum startups throughout its history. Francesco is also the Economist-in-Residence on the Leadership Council for Open Quantum Design, a non-profit organization that is building the world’s first open-source, full-stack, trapped-ion quantum computer.
David Roy-Guay is the Founder and CEO of SBQuantum, where he leads a multidisciplinary team advancing cutting-edge diamond-based quantum magnetometry. Combining deep scientific expertise—supported by 6+ patents, 10 scientific publications, and a PhD in physics—with strategic leadership, he has secured over $15M in grants and R&D contracts while guiding collaborations with ESA, NASA, the NGA, and major defense primes. A co-inventor of multiple quantum sensing technologies and architect of the first diamond-based magnetometer CubeSat payload, he is recognized for transforming complex quantum research into practical, user-centric solutions and for steering SBQuantum’s growth at the forefront of Magnetic Intelligence innovation, spanning aerospace, defense and public safety.
Lieutenant-General Darcy Molstad was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta joining the Canadian Armed Forces in December 1996 through the direct entry program after completing a Bachelor of Science at the University of Alberta. He earned his pilot’s wings in 1999 as a Golden Centenaire graduate and completed his operational training on the CF188 “Hornet” in 2000.
After a tour with 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Bagotville, Québec, he was selected for an exchange with the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in Beaufort, South Carolina serving with the 312th and 122nd Marine Fighter Attack squadrons. Other line and command appointments include: Deputy Commanding Officer of 410 Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron, Commanding Officer 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron, Commanding Officer 3 Wing / Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, and Deputy Commander Canadian Joint Operations Command. He was appointed to his current post as the inaugural Commander of the Canadian Joint Forces Command in 2025.
His operational experience includes extensive post 9/11 NORAD alert duties across Canada, a six-month rotation in the Western Pacific while attached to the USMC (2007), deployments as Air Task Force Commander for NATO air policing missions in Iceland (2012), Romania (2014), and in Hawaii for Canada’s largest expeditionary Air Force contribution to a RIMPAC exercise (2016). Most recently, he served as the US Air Forces Central Command Combined Air and Space Operations Center Director in Al Udeid, Qatar, responsible for coalition air operations in the Middle East, Arabian Gulf, and Central Asia (2022).
His staff experience includes tours as the Officer Commanding 1 Canadian Air Division Fighter Standards and Evaluation Team, Senior Staff Officer in charge of Northern Employment and Western Hemisphere Engagement Strategy at Canada Command, Air Force Adviser to the United Kingdom in London, Defence Attaché to Iceland, Special Adviser to the Minister of National Defence, and two Director General positions at the Strategic Joint Staff, and Chief of Force Development.
Lieutenant-General Molstad is a graduate of the Joint Command and Staff Programme at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto and the USAF Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base Montgomery, Alabama. He holds a master’s degree in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada and a master’s degree in Strategic Studies (with distinction) from the Air University in the United States. He is a Fighter Weapons Instructor and highly experienced pilot with over 2,200 hours logged on the CF188.
Before joining the CAF, he competed in pole vaulting at the national level and holds two junior national titles. He is married to an exceptional health professional and is the proud father to two extraordinary adult children. In his spare time, he acts as an Honourary Coach of the Montréal Alouette Football Club and is the Co-Patron for the CAF Triathlon Team.
