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The Ford government has announced it will proceed with the nearly $27 billion upgrade of four reactors at Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, a key part of its energy strategy.
Energy Minister Stephen Lecce revealed on Wednesday that the province had given the green light to Ontario Power Generation’s plan to refurbish the plant’s CANDU reactors, which could keep them operational for another forty years.
“To deliver on our major jobs plan to get Canadians working, extending the life of the facility will create jobs for tens of thousands of skilled workers while we build up the Ontario supply chain and keep 90 per cent of our project spend in this country,” he said in a statement.
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The project still requires final licensing approvals from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. If those are obtained, work on Pickering’s B units five through eight could begin in early 2027.
Once complete, this overhaul at Pickering is expected to boost capacity by up to 2,200 megawatts of electricity-enough power for about 2.2 million homes-according to government estimates.
The Progressive Conservatives have placed nuclear power at the forefront of their energy plans and are also considering building a new station in Port Hope along with small modular reactors and further refurbishments.
Ontario has turned increasingly toward natural gas while taking nuclear plants offline for upgrades, drawing some criticism as a result.
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Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. The government had previously indicated its intention to refurbish Pickering earlier this year. The announcement on Wednesday confirmed that it had granted final approval for moving ahead with this plan. Story continues below The initiative has an estimated budget of $26.8 billion and is expected to generate around 30,500 jobs. The costs will be managed by Ontario Power Generation, with suggestions from the government that they might use “financial instruments” to ease expenses for consumers. “(The) OPG continues to explore other optimal financing arrangements,” the government stated. Trending Now
This is when you’ll get GST tax credits and other federal rebates this year
A new ‘cold’ war? Canada looks to bolster Arctic security, sovereignty
The project still requires final licensing approvals from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. If those are obtained, work on Pickering’s B units five through eight could begin in early 2027.
Once complete, this overhaul at Pickering is expected to boost capacity by up to 2,200 megawatts of electricity-enough power for about 2.2 million homes-according to government estimates.
The Progressive Conservatives have placed nuclear power at the forefront of their energy plans and are also considering building a new station in Port Hope along with small modular reactors and further refurbishments.
Ontario has turned increasingly toward natural gas while taking nuclear plants offline for upgrades, drawing some criticism as a result.
more on Politics more videos
& copy 2025 , a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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