Four provincial governments are pushing ahead with a plan to develop nuclear power in Canada with calls for the federal government to back ambitious plans for small modular reactors and a new class of Generation IV micro-SMR for remote communities and mines.

They say Canada’s early adoption of SMRs would position the nation as a world-leader in new nuclear innovation and a global SMR technology hub.

The provinces are calling for a grid-scale SMR project of 300 MW constructed at the Darlington nuclear site in Ontario by 2028 with subsequent units to follow in Saskatchewan. Last October the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission renewed Ontario Power Generation’s existing site preparation licence for a new nuclear project at Darlington – allowing OPG to do work aimed at preparing the site for construction of a potential future SMR.