Another big year for nuclear in Canada

2025 was a banner year for nuclear. Not only has the global commitment to tripling nuclear energy by 2050 continued to grow, but hardly a day went by without a major announcement on nuclear developments somewhere around the world.

Just a few of the many announcements in 2025 include:

The United States government set a goal to quadruple nuclear capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050, announced an $80 billion investment program with Westinghouse aimed at accelerating large-reactor deployment, continued DOE support for advanced reactors and SMRs, and a number of big tech companies announced investments in restarting older plants and developing new projects to support their growing data centre demand.
The United Kingdom government made a final decision to proceed with Sizewell C under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model and selected Rolls-Royce SMR as the preferred developer for the UK’s first fleet of small modular reactors at the Wylfa site in Wales.
Romania advanced the refurbishment of Cernavoda Unit 1 and continued preparations for new nuclear.
Bulgaria moved forward with plans for new large reactors at Kozloduy.
Belgium’s parliament voted to repeal its 2003 nuclear phase-out law.
Italy announced plans to return to nuclear power by 2030 after a 38-year moratorium.
Poland received European Commission approval for state aid to construct its first nuclear power plant, and
Sweden passed legislation to fund a new generation of reactors.

And of course, of tremendous importance, the World Bank marked a historic shift by opening engagement on nuclear energy, particularly for life extensions and SMRs, underscoring nuclear power’s growing role in energy security and decarbonization.

Out of breath yet? Against this backdrop of unprecedented global momentum, it can be easy to overlook the extraordinary progress of nuclear in Canada. Yet, this past year, not only did Canada continue to successfully deliver its ongoing projects; it also made commitments to new ones and is planning even more for the future.

It all starts with the refurbishment (life extensions) projects at both Darlington and Bruce in the province of Ontario. The Darlington refurbishment project is approaching its conclusion, with the fourth and final unit now in the return-to-service phase. This project is expected to be competed early in 2026 ahead of schedule and on budget. At Bruce, one unit has been completed with two others currently under refurbishment and is also trending on time and on budget. With a budget of about CDN $26 Billion to life extend a total of ten units, these projects are a testament to the benefits of continuous learning as it applies to large complex nuclear project delivery.

Next, in May, Canada became the first country in the G7 to secure a Final Investment Decision (FID) for an SMR at the Darlington Site in Ontario. The first unit of four at the site is planned to be in service in 2030. Construction of this first SMR at Darlington has catalyzed global momentum, attracting interest from utilities across the globe who are following its progress as they contemplate their own SMR projects. Then In November Canada became the only western nation to achieve a second FID within 2025 as the Pickering Refurbishment Project was approved by the Ontario government. Together these two projects represent close to CDN $50 Billion in investment.

The result of this ongoing success is that in June 2025, Ontario released its inaugural Integrated Energy Plan stating that nuclear energy will continue to serve as the backbone of the province’s electricity system to meet growing electricity demands. With forecasts that Ontario’s electricity demand will grow 75 percent by 2050, the plan anticipates additional new large nuclear to follow the existing refurbishments and SMR program. An impact assessment is already underway for new nuclear at the Bruce site and there are plans to develop a new larger nuclear site at Wesleyville.

Elsewhere in Canada, Saskatchewan released its comprehensive energy strategy with nuclear as a central pillar. Work is underway by SaskPower to develop two SMR units near Estevan with a final investment decision expected by the end of the decade. New Brunswick remains committed to new nuclear in the province and is continuing with its Licence to Prepare Site application at the Point Lepreau site. And finally, the Alberta government is considering nuclear power for the first time in the province launching a comprehensive Nuclear Energy Engagement in August 2025.

Canada is also moving forward with plans for a permanent solution to nuclear waste. After selecting a location for its Deep Geological Repository (DGR) in 2024, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has just announced that the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has posted the Initial Project Description for the project officially kicking off the regulatory process.

And things are only going to get bigger and better in 2026.

First of all, the Darlington Refurbishment Project will come to a successful conclusion demonstrating that on-time, on-budget execution is indeed achievable. Bruce Power will return Unit 3 to service in 2026, and its next unit will begin refurbishment. The four Pickering B units will all come down before year end launching the next big refurbishment program.

And as construction of the SMR at Darlington accelerates in 2026, planning and licensing activities will continue for new large nuclear in Ontario and new nuclear in Saskatchewan, Alberta and New Brunswick. Above all, Canada’s proven ability to deliver complex nuclear projects on time and on budget not only builds confidence for growing the industry at home but also establishes a benchmark for excellence in international nuclear deployment.

Happy New Year to all and here is to an even more exciting 2026!!