Canada is looking to build up to 10 new nuclear reactors over the next 15 years

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

Canada is looking to build up to 10 new nuclear reactors over the next 15 years, sell Canadian-made reactors to more countries and double uranium exports, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said Monday as he released a new national strategy for nuclear power.

Hodgson called it a plan for a "new civilian nuclear renaissance" as the federal government looks to double the capacity of the country's 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 told a news conference in Newmarket, Ont.

"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."

WATCH | Minister says strategy would create tens of thousands of jobs: Canada's nuclear strategy will lead 'to at least a doubling' of industry jobs: minister | Duration 0:38 Announcing Canada's new nuclear strategy on Monday, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said the government believes its new national strategy for nuclear power — which aims to build up to 10 new reactors over the next 15 years — will double employment in the sector, 'going from roughly 90,000 jobs today to 180,000-plus jobs in the coming decades.'

The strategy calls for construction to start on two new large-scale reactors by 2035, for five more to be planned or under development by 2040 and for at least one reactor to be under construction outside Ontario by 2035.

It also calls for a Canadian-made microreactor to be finalized by 2035 and deployed to a remote community by the late 2030s.

Taking questions from reporters in Vancouver ahead of the announcement, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he wasn't sold on the plan.

"An announcement will not build anything," he said.

... continue reading