Ontario's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is powered by four Candu reactors.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Jean Chrétien is a former prime minister of Canada. Mike Harris is a former premier of Ontario. Both serve as co-chairs of Canadians for CANDU, a campaign by AtkinsRéalis to promote Candu nuclear-reactor technology.
When we were both in office in the 1990s, Canada and China agreed to the sale of two Candu nuclear reactors, marking the largest commercial agreement between our two countries at the time.
Many decades later, we continue to see the benefits of that partnership and the construction of more than 30 other reactors built domestically and across the world: a strong supply chain, thousands of Canadian jobs and a global reputation for Canadian nuclear excellence. We advanced our interests as global energy suppliers then, and we can build on that momentum today.
In an increasingly uncertain world, energy security is national security. Every country that wants to chart its own future must be able to power its economy with confidence, independence and reliability. For Canada, that means using the technology we invented, perfected and continue to lead the world with: the Candu nuclear reactor.
Made in Canada: Inside an urban Toronto facility making uranium fuel for CANDU reactors
A recent nuclear announcement from the government of the United States that offered support to their domestic technology makes one thing abundantly clear: We live in a world where large-scale nuclear deployments only succeed when they are backed by their host governments. Financial, regulatory, political and diplomatic support are needed for competitiveness.
For more than six decades, Candu technology, which is owned by Canadians, built by Canadians and driven by Canadian innovation, has powered our homes, businesses and hospitals with clean electricity. It has produced life-saving medical isotopes and helped establish Canada as one of the world’s most trusted nuclear innovators. All this, plus it is fuelled by natural uranium, abundant in Canada.
No foreign-designed reactor can be built or adapted to Canadian safety standards without reliance on enriched fuel that must be processed abroad and imported into Canada. In today’s protectionist world, that dependence poses a real risk. Candu avoids it entirely. Our reactors use natural uranium, mined and refined right here at home, in Saskatchewan and Ontario. This creates a homegrown fuel supply that can’t be disrupted by tariffs, trade wars or reactionary measures by unpredictable political actors around the globe.
The American strategic alignment changes the global nuclear landscape. Washington is now putting its considerable financial heft behind its own domestic nuclear technology. The implications for Canada are profound. If the U.S. is rallying behind its homegrown nuclear industry, then Canada must do the same. We must ensure that Canada remains competitive, not only for the sake of our energy security, but also for the thousands of Canadian workers and suppliers whose livelihoods depend on this sector.
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We want to be clear: If Canada does not choose Candu and instead goes with an American technology, that will mean the transfer of tens of thousands (and potentially hundreds of thousands) of jobs to the U.S. and abroad. The painful changes we are currently experiencing in our automobile industry in Ontario are a reminder of what happens when we tie our fortunes to foreign technologies and foreign companies.
If Canada wants to truly be considered an energy superpower, we must first demonstrate confidence in our own technology. We cannot market and sell Canadian tech abroad if we do not invest in it at home. By choosing Candu for our next wave of large-scale nuclear builds, we send an unmistakable message to international partners: Canada stands behind its own technology.
Candu’s proven tech has been successfully deployed in Ontario and around the world for generations, with technology enhancements ready to deliver even greater efficiency to meet Ontario’s growing electricity demand. More than 90 per cent of Candu’s supply chain is domestic, concentrated in Ontario, a province facing significant trade challenges with the U.S. Investing in Candu directly supports Canadian steel, construction, manufacturing and skilled trades.
This is a blueprint for national independence. As the federal government seeks to support skilled trades workers, Candu offers a ready-made solution. The sooner approvals are made, the sooner more high-value, high-skill jobs are available. Candu means real, lasting opportunity for Canadian workers and Canadian industry.
The choice of Candu technology for new builds in Ontario is about more than power generation: It’s about leadership. When we choose our own technology, we demonstrate to the world that Canada is serious about its energy ambitions and capacity to compete globally.