Bruce Power will start community consultations and conduct the environmental assessment for federal approval with the intent of siting an additional 4,800 MW on their current site.
Bruce Power is the largest nuclear power site in the world. This would widen that lead, and make use of nuclear supply chains maintained in Canada as our Ontario CANDUs have been maintained and upgraded.
Ontario is starting pre-development work with Bruce Power to site the first large-scale nuclear build in a generation to help meet rising electricity demand with reliable, emissions-free power that will support electrification and power Ontario’s economic growth.
New large-scale nuclear projects in Canada are currently subject to a federal Impact Assessment (IA).
The federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) would be responsible for leading the IA for a future new large-scale nuclear station at the existing Bruce site, with support from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and input from Bruce Power. IAAC would undertake consultations with Indigenous communities and engagement with the public throughout the IA process.
Overall, a large-scale new nuclear reactor project is expected to require a lead-time of a decade or more from Impact Assessment commencement to deployment, depending on the time it takes to complete regulatory assessments and approvals as well as to undertake planning and preparation, procurements, construction, and commissioning of the reactor(s).
The Impact Assessment Act complicates this timeline with opportunities for the IAAC or Federal Ministers to pause the process without firm timelines to provide a final decision.
Ontario looks forward to continuing to work with the federal government as it develops a concrete plan to clarify and reduce timelines, minimize inefficiencies, and enhance engagement and partnerships on major project reviews. This is especially important for sites like Bruce Power’s, which are among the most studied sites in Canada and have safely hosted nuclear generating units for more than 30 years.
