Canada owns one of the world’s most complete nuclear ecosystems, yet policymakers still talk as if oil, gas and critical minerals carry the export flag. Nuclear assets run from Saskatchewan uranium mines to heavy-water CANDU reactors and an 89 000-person supply chain that has expanded 17 percent since 2019 .
Ontario already generates about 60 percent of its electricity from reactors, giving manufacturers and data-centre operators a non-emitting power price other G7 rivals now scramble to match .
Nuclear benefits travel well beyond the grid. Reactors at Pickering and Bruce harvest medical isotopes that Canada sells for cancer diagnosis and therapy, a niche where demand is growing at double-digit rates worldwide.
“We must develop both a nuclear supply chain and the labour force needed to make that opportunity real,” Saskatchewan opposition leader Carla Beck said this fall . Her province already ships about one-fifth of global uranium; refining more of that ore at home would widen trade margins and hedge against geopolitical shocks.
The domestic employment footprint also matters. Conference Board modelling shows a four-unit CANDU expansion could add $90 billion to gross domestic product and support 20 000 construction jobs, then 3 500 long-term operating roles . Those numbers rival a midsize automotive platform and, unlike smokestack plants, bring steady paycheques for seven decades, the typical reactor life.
SMRs could widen the lead
Ottawa, Queen’s Park and the Canada Growth Fund have now lined up $3 billion in equity to build four 300-megawatt small modular reactors, or SMRs, at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site.
The Independent Electricity System Operator expects the first unit to connect in 2027 and reach commercial service in 2029, with three twins by 2035, adding 1 200 MW to the provincial grid . The IESO also projects electricity demand will climb 75 percent by 2050 as heat pumps and electric vehicles spread , making firm, zero-carbon baseload even more valuable.
OPG chief executive Ken Hartwick frames the project in export terms as much as climate ones. “Our SMR at Darlington will be key to providing much-needed new, reliable electricity for Ontario, and it will spearhead similar projects in Canada, the U.S. and Europe,” he told partners while outlining a joint build team with GE Hitachi, SNC-Lavalin and Aecon.
If Ontario proves the design on schedule, Canadian engineering firms could capture decades of follow-on work abroad, repeating the success of CANDU deployments in Romania, China and South Korea.
A policy edge hiding in plain sight
Canada’s nuclear advantage is hard to replicate. Heavy-water technology allows on-site refuelling and high capacity factors, skills that take generations to master. The country also holds the world’s largest commercial tritium stockpile, a potential feedstock for fusion research that has already drawn interest from the United Kingdom and private developers . Add tight federal safety oversight and a stable political climate and the package becomes a premium offering for countries seeking energy security without carbon.
Yet nuclear rarely tops trade missions or export financing agendas. While Canada promotes critical minerals and green hydrogen, the United States is doubling loan guarantees for next-gen reactors and France is pitching 16-reactor fleets to Eastern Europe. Without louder federal backing, Canadian vendors risk being price-takers in a market they helped create.
The opportunity is still Canada’s to lose. Reactors already anchor clean-power bragging rights, generate exportable isotopes and build a skilled middle class. Small modular units promise a second cycle of growth that could lock in manufacturing orders and design royalties for decades. Recognising nuclear power as a strategic export, not just a domestic climate tool, would turn a quiet advantage into a centrepiece of Canada’s global competitiveness.
