Canada built its nuclear industry to avoid foreign fuel. Its new reactors will depend on it
Ontario is transitioning to new small modular reactors (SMRs) that require enriched uranium, marking a shift away from Canada's traditional Candu reactor technology. Critics argue this move compromises Canada's energy sovereignty by creating a dependency on foreign fuel enrichment services.
Why it matters
This shift represents a significant change in national energy policy and raises concerns about long-term geopolitical risks in the nuclear supply chain.
It marks a sharp departure from the Candu reactor system, which gave Canada — the world's second-largest uranium producer — a largely domestic nuclear supply chain for more than half a century.
Ontario has begun building the first of four planned BWRX-300 small modular reactors , or SMRs, in Clarington, Ont., called the Darlington New Nuclear Project. The American-Japanese-designed light water reactor uses low-enriched uranium, unlike Canada's Candus, which use fuel made domestically from natural uranium without enrichment.
Ontario Power Generation (OPG), the Crown corporation that operates provincially owned electrical utilities, expects the first BWRX-300 at Darlington to be connected to the grid by the end of 2030. The other three are planned for the mid-2030s.
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