Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) has announced a transition of its clean energy program, refocusing activities to directly support the growth of Canada’s industrial nuclear sector. The shift reflects a national landscape that has changed dramatically since 2018, when the program was launched as the Invitation for SMR Demonstration Projects — later rebranded as the Invitation for Clean Energy Projects.
The program was originally designed to stimulate clean energy demonstrations at CNL-managed sites. Eight years on, the picture looks entirely different. The Canadian government has announced the development of a national nuclear strategy alongside new initiatives to explore the potential of micro-reactors. What was once a sector waiting for demonstrators has become an industry in full construction mode. Projects previously proposed for the Chalk River Laboratories and Whiteshell Laboratories sites are no longer active within the CNL process — but their discontinuation is not a setback. It is confirmation that the market has moved in a far more ambitious direction.
Canada’s operational nuclear landscape is now among the most active in the world. Ontario Power Generation is building four grid-scale SMRs at Darlington, using the GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 reactor design. The project is the first of its kind in the G7. In April 2025, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission issued the construction licence for the first of the four modules. Preliminary site works were completed on time and on budget, with Aecon-Kiewit engaged in the main site preparation phase, covering excavation and retaining wall construction. Once all four modules are operational, the project will generate approximately 1,200 MW of capacity and support 18,000 annual jobs during construction. The total estimated cost stands at CAD 20.9 billion, with two government funds having already committed up to CAD 3 billion in support.
The expansion goes well beyond Darlington. The refurbishment and return to service of Pickering‘s reactors is underway, while the Ontario government has asked OPG to explore new large-scale nuclear generation at the Wesleyville site in Port Hope. Bruce Power has proposed new large reactors, and nuclear deployment initiatives are advancing in New Brunswick, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Ontario and Nova Scotia have also signed a bilateral agreement to collaborate on SMR development. Canada is positioning itself as a coordinated national system for nuclear energy — not a patchwork of isolated projects.
In this context, CNL is stepping back from its role as a demonstrator promoter and stepping up as a technical and scientific backbone for an industry that is now actively building. The program transition is consistent with this evolution: resources are being directed where the sector genuinely needs them — supply chain development, applied research, and regulatory support. With a national nuclear strategy in the process of being formalised and construction sites already open, Canada is establishing itself as one of the global benchmarks for SMR deployment over the next decade.
