Nuclear power in Canada
nuclearchain.net/countries/canada/ · data: Global Energy Monitor (GNPT, August 2026), CC BY 4.0 · printed from the live page
Canada operates 17 nuclear power reactors across 18 sites, with 13.5 GW of gross capacity. A further 1 unit is under construction, adding 0.3 GW. 8 units have been retired.
Operating fleet by type: PHWR (17). Principal operators: Ontario Power Generation, Bruce Power, New Brunswick Electric Power Commission.
Ontario approved construction of the first 300 MWe BWRX-300 unit at Darlington in May 2025 and the refurbishment of Pickering units 5-8 in November 2025. Canada's federal Nuclear Energy Strategy, launched in June 2026, aims to enable up to ten new large-scale reactors. Policy position as read on 2026-11-03: World Nuclear Association, Nuclear Power in Canada (page dated 2026-10-27).
Operating capacity over time
Data table
| Year | Units online | GW gross | Change, GW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 1 | 0.03 | +0.03 |
| 1968 | 2 | 0.24 | +0.22 |
| 1971 | 4 | 1.33 | +1.08 |
| 1972 | 6 | 2.14 | +0.81 |
| 1973 | 7 | 2.68 | +0.54 |
| 1977 | 8 | 4.12 | +1.44 |
| 1978 | 9 | 4.98 | +0.87 |
| 1979 | 10 | 5.85 | +0.87 |
| 1983 | 13 | 7.77 | +1.92 |
| 1984 | 14 | 8.98 | +1.21 |
| 1985 | 16 | 10.39 | +1.41 |
| 1986 | 18 | 11.81 | +1.41 |
| 1987 | 18 | 12.65 | +0.85 |
| 1990 | 19 | 13.59 | +0.93 |
| 1992 | 20 | 14.52 | +0.93 |
| 1993 | 22 | 16.39 | +1.87 |
| 2007 | 21 | 15.85 | −0.54 |
| 2008 | 20 | 15.30 | −0.54 |
| 2012 | 19 | 14.63 | −0.68 |
| 2024 | 17 | 13.55 | −1.08 |
Only years in which capacity changed are listed.
Position in the fuel chain
| Facility | Stage | Operator | Capacity / output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Hope Conversion Facility | conversion | Cameco Corporation | 12,500tU/yr as UF6 |
| Cameco Fuel Manufacturing, Port Hope | fabrication | Cameco Corporation | 1,650tHM/yr |
| Toronto and Peterborough | fabrication | BWX Technologies | 1,200tHM/yr |
| McArthur River / Key Lake | mining | Cameco Corporation | 7,808tU/yr |
| Cigar Lake | mining | Cameco Corporation | 6,501tU/yr |
| Canadian deep geological repository | repository | Nuclear Waste Management Organization | not disclosed |
All units in Canada
Fuel supply exposure
The fuel families Canada's operating reactors take, and the fabricators our sources document as able to make each. This is capability, not contracts: it does not say who actually supplies a given plant.
| Fuel family | Units | GW gross | Documented fabricators | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CANDU / PHWR bundles | 17 | 13.5 | Cameco Corporation, BWX Technologies, Nuclear Power Corporation of India, KEPCO Nuclear Fuel, China North Nuclear Fuel Company |
See every country and who fabricates fuel.
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Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
- Nuclear share of electricity: Our World in Data, from Ember and the Energy Institute , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-28
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data