Canada's Nuclear Power Future
Canada Unveils Nuclear Strategy to Build 10 New Reactors, Double Electricity by 2050
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Key Points
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The strategy highlights concrete projects like the Darlington New Nuclear Project as a reference point for what the plan aims to advance, with the Major Projects Office overseeing about 15 initiatives.
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Canada currently benefits from an electricity grid that is roughly 80% clean and among the lowest electricity costs in the G7, underscoring affordability and reliability as a foundation for expanding nuclear capacity.
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The CANDU reactor design used in Canada does not require uranium enrichment, which lowers costs and reduces proliferation concerns associated with enrichment.
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Preliminary funding considerations show the aggregate capital needs could exceed $100 billion, with potential funding channels like the Canada Growth Fund and the Canada Infrastructure Bank, though no project-specific funds are earmarked yet.
Canada plans to build at least 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors by 2050, doubling the country's electricity capacity in what Energy Minister Tim Hodgson called a "new civilian nuclear renaissance" The Canadian Press. Hodgson unveiled the Nuclear Energy Strategy on June 22 in Newmarket, Ontario, setting a hard deadline of 2035 for two reactors to be under construction and five more planned or under development by 2040 CBC News.
The plan rests on Canada's 70-year legacy of nuclear expertise and its 17 existing CANDU reactors, which currently supply about 13% of national electricity Natural Resources Canada. Total capital costs are expected to exceed $100 billion, though the government has not earmarked any new federal funds to cover that bill BNN Bloomberg.
Ten Reactors, One Tight Deadline, and a $100 Billion Price Tag
The strategy sets a concrete milestone: two large reactors must be under construction by 2035. Five more must be planned or in development by 2040. The Darlington New Nuclear Project near Toronto is the reference point, and the Major Projects Office is already overseeing about 15 related initiatives Global News. The government also wants at least one reactor built outside Ontario by 2035 — a first in decades.
The aggregate price tag could top $100 billion, according to a Natural Resources Canada technical briefing. To fill that gap, the government points to the Canada Growth Fund and the Canada Infrastructure Bank, plus a financing framework meant to attract pension and sovereign-wealth fund money BNN Bloomberg. But the Canada Growth Fund holds only $15 billion in total — a fraction of what is needed. A dedicated funding policy is not expected until April 2027 Reuters.
CANDU Reactors Give Canada a Rare Non-Proliferation Edge
Canada's homegrown CANDU design runs on natural uranium — not enriched uranium. That distinction matters for two reasons. First, it cuts fuel costs. Second, it removes the proliferation risk tied to enrichment technology Natural Resources Canada. Canada sits on some of the world's richest uranium deposits, and the strategy calls for doubling uranium exports to fill the gap left by sanctioned Russian suppliers Western Standard.
Canada's grid is already 80% clean and carries some of the lowest electricity costs in the G7 NRCan. The nuclear sector supports 90,000 jobs today and contributes $22 billion a year to GDP. The strategy aims to double that workforce by 2050. Minister Hodgson framed the plan as a path to making Canada an "energy superpower" The Canadian Press.
Canada Eyes Four New Export Markets and a Global Nuclear Role
The strategy is not just domestic. Canada wants to break into at least four new international markets by 2040 and target six to ten "new entrant" countries over the next 15 years Global News. The push is partly geopolitical: Russia has long dominated global nuclear fuel exports, and Western governments are eager to offer an alternative. Canada already exports services to nine reactors abroad The Canadian Press.
The strategy also targets Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs — compact reactors that can be built faster and deployed in remote areas. Ontario Power Generation submitted a licence application for the first SMR at Darlington in March 2026 OPG. The federal government committed a $2 billion investment via the Canada Growth Fund for four SMRs at that same site back in October 2025 SightLine.
Carney Recuses Himself as Political Skeptics Question the Plan
Prime Minister Mark Carney stepped back from the strategy's development due to an ethics screen. Before entering politics, Carney chaired Brookfield Asset Management, which owns a 51% stake in Westinghouse — a direct CANDU competitor BNN Bloomberg. His recusal is meant to protect the plan's credibility, but the Opposition has kept the conflict of interest in the spotlight.
Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre dismissed the announcement bluntly: "An announcement will not build anything" CTV News. Industry analysts share some of that caution. The Public Policy Forum called this a "generational opportunity" but warned that success depends on "execution certainty" and the ability to attract private investment at scale. With no earmarked funds and a funding framework still a year away, that uncertainty is real.
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