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4w ago

Canada Moves to Enable Up to 10 New Nuclear Reactors

Ottawa seeks to expand CANDU exports, scale uranium production and streamline approvals to underpin a major federal push for nuclear capacity

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A view of Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Courtice Ontario on May 23, 2023. OPG staff gave The Globe and Mail a tour of the ongoing project to refurbish the four nuclear reactors at Canada’s second-largest nuclear station. Carlos Osorio for The Globe and Mail
Workers return to the plant after a news conference at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in Pickering, Ont., Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Overview

  • The federal government released its Nuclear Energy Strategy on Monday, June 22, setting targets to enable up to 10 new large reactors with two under construction by 2035 and five planned or under development by 2040.
  • The plan singles out Canada’s CANDU technology for modernization by 2030 and sets export goals of at least four new international CANDU markets by 2040 to revive decades‑old reactor sales.
  • Ottawa tied ambitious workforce and supply targets to the strategy, pledging to double the nuclear workforce by 2050 and to double uranium exports by 2035 while pointing to recent approvals for Saskatchewan mines as supply support.
  • The strategy includes no new core federal spending and relies on existing funds, private and institutional capital, and a promised draft nuclear financing policy due by April 2027 to reduce project risk.
  • Reactions split: provincial leaders and industry welcomed federal de‑risking and export aims, while critics warned of more than $100 billion in potential construction costs, long build times, unresolved waste questions and trade‑offs with cheaper renewables.