From strategy to construction: Financing Canada’s Nuclear Future 

Canada has set a clear direction for nuclear energy. 

The federal government’s new Nuclear Energy Strategy calls for new nuclear builds across the country, a stronger Canadian supply chain, expanded uranium and nuclear fuel opportunities, and continued innovation in technologies including fission and fusion. It also recognizes that delivering this ambition will require modern financing tools, efficient regulation and partnership among governments, Indigenous Peoples and industry. 

The goal is to support nuclear energy projects as a means of meeting Canada’s economic, social and climate goals, creating jobs and driving innovation while strengthening the country’s energy security. 

The next question is practical: how do we turn that ambition into financeable projects? 

A new study commissioned by the Canadian Nuclear Association, Enabling Financing for Nuclear Energy Deployment in Canada, examines that question. Drawing on international experience and engagement focused on Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Alberta, the study identifies the conditions needed to attract capital while supporting affordability and successful project delivery. 

Nuclear facilities require substantial investment before they begin producing electricity. Development and construction can span 10 to 15 years, while a completed plant can operate for 60 to 80 years or longer with low and stable operating costs. 

That makes the cost of capital one of the most important drivers of a nuclear project’s overall economics. Interest accumulates during construction, and the returns required by investors rise as their exposure to project, schedule and market risks increases. 

The study’s central finding is that a financing framework must do more than provide enough money to build a project. It must provide cost-effective capital . Well-designed policy and market frameworks can lower risk, reduce financing costs and help protect electricity consumers over the project’s operating life. 

Canada’s electricity systems differ significantly. Some provinces have Crown utilities operating in regulated markets. Canada also has privately operated nuclear generation, while Alberta has a deregulated electricity market. 

The study therefore does not prescribe a single national model. Regulated approaches, long-term contracts and other frameworks can all work. What matters is whether the structure provides predictable revenue, supports early project development and clearly addresses construction, delay, completion and market risks. 

International experience also shows that risk does not disappear when it is transferred through a contract. Assigning excessive risk to a vendor can increase prices, weaken project partners and undermine delivery. Risk should instead be allocated to the party best able to manage it, with incentives that keep owners, vendors and contractors focused on project success. 

Government involvement was a consistent feature of the projects examined. Depending on the jurisdiction, it included policy certainty, early development support, regulated cost recovery, long-term revenue arrangements, tax measures, loans, loan guarantees and direct investment. 

This is not an argument for government to assume every project risk. It is an argument for governments to address risks that private investors or individual project participants cannot reasonably carry, and to do so in ways that lower costs and maintain accountability. 

The study recommends long-term policy certainty, more efficient and predictable regulatory processes, continued access to federal investment tax credits and public financing institutions, and additional support for first-of-a-kind and first-in-a-province projects. It also highlights Indigenous equity participation as both an important financing pathway and an opportunity to create lasting economic benefits through project partnership. 

Canada’s Nuclear Energy Strategy establishes the ambition to build. CNA’s financing study provides a timely framework for the next stage: designing projects that can attract investment, manage risk and deliver reliable, affordable electricity for generations.