Feds release nuclear strategy that promises construction of up to 10 new nuclear reactors

OTTAWA — The federal government released its nuclear strategy on Monday, which promises to enable the construction of up to 10 new nuclear reactors and grow the industry’s export potential.

“Our nuclear energy strategy is ambitious; it has to be,” said Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, during a press conference in Newmarket, Ont., on Monday. “Because the scale of the opportunity, I hope you understand at this point, is immense, but it’s not an opportunity that should intimidate us, it’s an opportunity that should remind us who we are as Canadians.”

The strategy compliments the federal government’s intention to double the capacity of Canada’s electricity grid by 2050. Nuclear energy was presented as a key part of the government’s electricity strategy, which was presented last month.

“To put it simply, if our goal is to double our grid and reach net zero by 2050 there is no credible plan for Canada to do that without nuclear energy and the clean, reliable base load power it provides,” said Hodgson.

The plan aims to take advantage of what it describes as a “global nuclear renaissance,” with Canada holding structural advantages in the industry.

Hodgson said if the provinces roll out their nuclear plans, employment in the industry is set to double from 90,000 jobs to 180,000 jobs in the “coming decades.”

Currently, Canada has 17 nuclear reactors, which generate 15 per cent of the country’s electricity. There are currently two reactors under construction by 2035 and five more planned by 2040. Most of those reactors are found in Ontario, with one operating in New Brunswick.

The key objectives of Monday’s strategy is to help get up to 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors built in Canada, with one outside the of Ontario. Another objective is to update the CANDU reactor by 2030.

The CANDU reactor is a type of reactor that was developed in Canada and operates on natural uranium. A senior government official said the last CANDU reactor was built in the 1990s and since then, codes and standards have changed due to the nuclear incident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan in 2011.

The strategy also aims to double uranium exports by 2040. Canada ranks second in the world for uranium global production and exports, according to Natural Resources Canada. The province of Saskatchewan is home to most uranium deposits, with several mills in operation and owned by Cameco Corporation.

The government has also set a goal of finding four additional international markets for the CANDU reactor. Currently, Canada has sold the reactors to India, Pakistan, Argentina, South Korea, Romania and China.

The strategy will also aim to streamline the regulatory framework on nuclear projects and increase investment in research and development to drive innovation in the field.

“As part of the set of initiatives that Minister MacKinnon and Minister LeBlanc have initiated, one of the goals we’re looking at is to bring all of the approval and assessment into one agency, the Canada Nuclear Safety Commission,” said Hodgson.

“We think by centralizing all of the responsibilities in one organization we can both raise the standards and raise the competence of the government and deliver the certainty that all the stakeholders and proponents require in that two-year time period,” the minister added.

The small modular reactor is an example of innovation happening in the industry. The SMR at the Darlington New Nuclear Project in Clarington, Ont., is the first in North America and was referred to the major projects office in September 2025.

SMRs are a new class of nuclear reactors that are considerably smaller in size and power output than conventional nuclear power reactors. In Ontario, the cost of nuclear refurbishment and SMR development is expected to be over $40 billion.

Despite the goals set out in the strategy, no new funding was attached to the announcement. A senior government official said the government can use existing streams of funding, including the Canada Growth Fund and the Canada Infrastructure Fund.

The nuclear strategy was not shown to Prime Minister Mark Carney, due to his conflict-of-interest screen. In 2023, Brookfield Asset Management partnered with Cameco to purchase Westinghouse Electric Company, one of the world’s largest nuclear companies that is deeply ingrained in Canada’s nuclear supply chain.

Carney served as chair at Brookfield prior to assuming office, and holds several assets with the firm that have been placed in a blind trust.

National Post

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