OTTAWA — The math behind Canada’s nuclear push is simple. Ten large reactors. Two of them under construction by 2035.
More by 2040. And a microreactor for remote communities, set for demonstration in a dozen years.
Natural Resources Canada released the full strategy Monday. It is not a vague aspiration. It is a numbered, dated plan.
The large-scale reactors form the backbone. The department calls for enabling construction of up to ten new units.
That is a substantial expansion for a country that currently operates 19 commercial reactors in Ontario and New Brunswick. Two of those ten must be under construction by 2035. Several more must be either planned or under development by 2040.
The timeline is tight. Nuclear projects typically take a decade or longer from planning to operation. Canada has not broken ground on a new large reactor in decades.
The strategy acknowledges this by setting staged milestones — not a single distant target. Small modular reactors get their own lane.
The strategy calls for a Canadian microreactor demonstration by 2035. That is a smaller, factory-built unit designed for places big reactors cannot go. The plan targets deployment to remote communities in the late 2030s.
Many of those communities now rely on diesel generators. Freight costs drive electricity prices sky-high.
A microreactor could change that calculus entirely. The strategy does not stop at domestic power. It aims to sell Canada’s CANDU reactor technology to at least several new international markets by 2040.
CANDU is a pressurized heavy-water design developed in Canada. It has been sold to India, Pakistan, Argentina, South Korea, Romania, and China. The new strategy wants more customers.
It also calls for engagement with a substantial number of new nuclear entrant markets over a 15-year horizon. Those are countries that have never built a nuclear plant.
They need partners. Canada wants to be that partner. The economic logic is straightforward.
Building reactors at home creates expertise. Exporting that expertise creates revenue.
The department’s release frames this as a strategic calculation centered on securing a significant presence in the global market. Canada is not alone in this race. The United States, Russia, China, and South Korea all export nuclear technology.
France relies on nuclear for roughly 70 percent of its electricity. Japan is restarting reactors after the Fukushima pause. The global market is competitive.
Canada’s strategy bets that CANDU technology — proven over decades — can still win contracts. For remote communities, the microreactor timeline matters.
The late 2030s is not tomorrow. But it is the first concrete deployment date Canada has set for small nuclear in off-grid locations. The strategy describes these reactors as a reliable and efficient source of energy for communities that face significant challenges in accessing affordable and sustainable power.
The entire plan rests on execution. Ten reactors, two by 2035, several more by 2040, a microreactor demonstration, international sales.
Each of those items requires regulatory approvals, investment decisions, supply chains, and public acceptance. The strategy lays out the destination. It does not pretend the road is easy.
Natural Resources Canada released the document from Ottawa on June 24. The department is responsible for the development and use of the country’s natural resources. Nuclear fuel counts as a natural resource.
The strategy makes that classification explicit. Canada has uranium.
It has CANDU technology. It has operating reactors and trained workers. The strategy tries to connect those assets into a coherent national effort.
The numbers are specific. The deadlines are set.
The rest is work.
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