The province’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Stephen Lecce, said: “At a time when our economy faces threats from abroad, Ontario’s government is doubling down on made-in-Canada nuclear power.”
The Independent Electricity System Operator has been directed to enter into a cost-sharing and recovery agreement for the pre-development activities, which are forecast to continue until around 2030.
The pre-development work “includes ongoing readiness activities such as technology selection, workforce and commercial planning, estimating the cost of site preparation activities, developing cooling water strategies, community readiness, and Indigenous engagement in addition to continuing the Impact Assessment process”.
The Bruce C project – which would have a proposed capacity of 4.8 GW – is also currently proceeding with a federal integrated Impact Assessment and Licence to Prepare Site application led by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. It is currently in the Impact Statement phase “which includes engagement with the public, municipal governments, and Indigenous communities”.
Ontario’s government says the proposed new nuclear power plant will provide enough power for 4.8 million homes and add CAD238 billion into Canada’s economy over its lifetime.
Lecce said: “The Bruce C project will advance generational employment creating 18,900 net-new jobs, transforming Bruce Power into the world’s largest nuclear generating facility. Our government is thinking big and long-term as we build on-time and on-budget, leading the largest nuclear expansion on the continent that will help put 150,000 Canadians to work.”
James Scongack, Bruce Power’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President, said: “Advancing early planning for Bruce C allows us to responsibly explore how additional nuclear generation on the Bruce site can play a crucial role in supporting Ontario’s long‑term energy needs and drive economic stability and growth.
“This work is about taking the right steps in gathering information, engaging meaningfully with Indigenous communities and municipalities, and ensuring that any future decisions have been well thought out and carefully scrutinised.”
Bruce Power said it was entering into agreements with the Municipality of Kincardine, the Town of Saugeen Shores, and the County of Bruce to provide annual funding to support assessment work, which will help identify “potential impacts to municipal infrastructure and services such as housing, roads, emergency services, community amenities, water and wastewater infrastructure, land development, labour and social infrastructure”.
It was also continuing to engage with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, on whose territory the Bruce Power site is located, “to shape the project to reduce environmental and other impacts while establishing long-lasting community benefits – the announcement today will support research and engagement on issues of importance” to the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
Background
The Bruce site, 18 kilometres north of the town of Kincardine in Bruce County, is home to eight operating Candu units: units 1-4 are known together as Bruce A and units 5-8 as Bruce B. The new project would be sited within the existing 932-hectare site, with new intake and discharge structures in Lake Huron. Alternative cooling strategies will be evaluated as part of the impact assessment process.
Bruce Power formally notified Canadian regulators of its intention to launch an Impact Assessment process for up to 4,800 MWe of new capacity at the Bruce site in October 2023. The federal government announced CAD50 million of funding in February 2024 to support pre-development feasibility work. In August 2025 the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, issued the formal Notice of Commencement of Impact Assessment under the country’s Impact Assessment Act.
With nuclear currently responsible for 50% of Ontario’s total generation and hydro contributing 24%, Ontario already has one of the cleanest grids in the world and the Energy for Generations plan published in June 2025 sees nuclear power – including required new capacity – “continuing to serve as the backbone of the province’s electricity system providing the 24/7 baseload power the province’s economy requires” as demand continues to rise.
