Canadian Power, Utilities and Infrastructure

Research evidence excerpt

Canadian Power, Utilities and Infrastructure

ment launched its

Nuclear Energy Strategy, which is a key complement to its recently released National Electricity

Strategy (please click here). While noting that electricity generation is a provincial and territorial

jurisdiction, the government sees its role as complementary and enabling, bringing capabilities that

individual jurisdictions cannot replicate at scale. It seeks to advance action under four strategic

pillars: (1) enabling new builds across Canada; (2) being a global supplier and exporter of choice;

(3) expanding uranium production and nuclear fuel opportunities and supporting long-term nuclear

waste management; and (4) developing new Canadian nuclear innovations (e.g., fission, fusion).

• Our interest is mainly on the first pillar for our Canadian Energy Infrastructure sector. In the

"Enabling new builds across Canada" pillar, key objectives include: (1) enabling construction of up to

10 new large-scale reactors within Canada, with two under construction by 2035, five more planned

or under development by 2040, and at least one nuclear deployment (including SMRs) operational

or under construction outside Ontario by 2035; (2) attract private financing to new builds, including

from pension and sovereign wealth funds, with an increasing share of private capital for successive

projects; (3) streamline the regulatory framework to ensure nuclear energy projects are reviewed in

an efficient manner without compromising safety, security, and environmental protection all while

upholding the rights of Indigenous peoples.

• Federal commitments to support these first pillar objectives range from financial support... To

enable these key objectives, the government seeks to: (1) centralize federal support for nuclear