Ontario Construction News staff writer
Canada is planning a major expansion of its nuclear power sector, including the construction of up to 10 new reactors over the next 15 years, the expansion of exports of its CANDU reactor technology, and a significant increase in uranium shipments, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said Monday.
Releasing a new national nuclear strategy in Newmarket, Ont., Newmarket, Hodgson described the plan as the beginning of a “new civilian nuclear renaissance,” arguing that nuclear power will be essential if Canada is to double the capacity of its electrical grid by 2050.
“If our goal is to double our grid and build a low-carbon economy in less than 25 years, there is no credible plan to do that without nuclear energy and the clean, reliable baseload power it provides,” Hodgson said at a news conference. “There is no credible plan for Canada to become an energy superpower if we choose not to build upon one of the strongest energy advantages we have.”
The strategy sets out a phased construction timeline. It calls for work to begin on two new large-scale reactors by 2035, with five additional reactors either planned or under development by 2040. It also says at least one reactor should be under construction outside Ontario by 2035.
The plan further calls for the development of a Canadian-designed microreactor by 2035, with deployment targeted for a remote community in the late 2030s.
Ahead of the announcement in Vancouver, Vancouver, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre expressed skepticism about the proposal.
“An announcement will not build anything,” Poilievre said. “And this is the problem we’ve had with the Carney Liberals is their promises are being reported on as results and so far there have been no results.”
At a technical briefing, an official from Natural Resources Canada estimated that construction of the planned reactors could cost more than $100 billion. The strategy does not lay out a detailed funding model, but points to potential financing support from the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the Canada Growth Fund.
Hodgson said the initiative would roughly double the size of Canada’s nuclear workforce, currently about 90,000 people, over the coming decades.
The strategy also places renewed emphasis on international expansion of Canada’s nuclear technology. It calls for entering at least four new export markets by 2040 and engaging six to 10 emerging nuclear countries over the next 15 years.
Canada’s CANDU reactor technology is already in use in about 30 reactors worldwide, including in South Korea, China, India, Argentina, Pakistan and Romania, with additional units under consideration or development abroad.
The federal government says the broader goal is to position Canada as a global nuclear energy supplier while accelerating domestic decarbonization through expanded baseload power capacity.
