Province continues nuclear energy education as it builds strategy

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Zoe Mason
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last month, the Government of Alberta hosted two webinars aimed at providing information and gauging Albertans’ thoughts about the prospect of nuclear energy in the province.

The event included commentary from several members of the province’s Nuclear Energy Engagement Advisory Panel, a Q&A session and a “Nuclear 101” presentation from a University of Calgary physicist.

The webinar series is part of the province’s larger engagement strategy on nuclear energy, which began with an online public survey and a request for information from stakeholders that opened in August and closed in October.

Panel chair Chantelle De Jonge, MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore says they received 4,650 responses to the public survey and 40 responses from industry, and she is optimistic about the future of nuclear energy in Alberta.

The Nov. 27 memorandum of understanding between Alberta and the federal government included a commitment to develop a nuclear generation strategy on or before Jan. 1, 2027. De Jonge’s committee is scheduled to turn in a report based on the engagement in spring 2026.

Canada is a world leader in nuclear technologies, attendees heard, pioneering the use of medical isotopes like Cobalt-60 for the treatment of cancer or Technetium-99 for cardiac testing. The CANDU nuclear reactor is one of the world’s most popular reactor designs, currently in use in seven countries around the world.

The CANDU reactors in Ontario provide 55 per cent of the province’s electricity.

The Prairies are also home to one of the world’s largest stores of uranium. One mine in northern Saskatchewan alone is responsible for producing 25 per cent of the world’s uranium ore.

Early discussions about pursuing nuclear power in Alberta have focused on the Peace River area in the north of the province.

One participant asked the panel how nuclear would fit into the province’s existing energy mix.

De Jonge said that as population growth and artificial intelligence expansion increase the demand on electricity, the province is trying to be proactive about increasing supply.

“We’ve got a plan for our long-term electricity needs, and the regulatory approval and the construction process for nuclear takes a long time, especially for conventional nuclear, you’re looking in the timeframe of a decade. So we need to start these conversations now,” she said.

Alberta entertained an investment in nuclear once before, in the early 2000s.

Dr. Harrie Vredenburg, a University professor of strategy and global management and a member of the provincial panel, says that last foray into nuclear fizzled out because it coincided with the fracking boom, which made natural gas the cheapest and easiest form of fuel.

Deron Bilous, a former MLA and another member of the panel, says Alberta’s workforce is well equipped to support a flourishing nuclear sector.

“Alberta already has the skills a nuclear project would need from electricians, pipe-fitters, heavy equipment operators, engineers, control room operators – people who work every day in very complex, tightly regulated industrial settings. So if the province decides to enable nuclear, our expectation is that project proponents make strong use of Alberta-based labour and suppliers.”

How it works

Nuclear power plants use fission reactions to produce heat, used in a boiler to create steam which spins a turbine to generate electricity. It’s the same process that other thermal power plants use, including coal and many natural gas plants.

“That part of the technology is very familiar to Albertans,” said Dr. Jason Donev, a University of Calgary physicist who delivered a talk about nuclear energy. “This functionally uses water in the same way as any other power plant.”

The nuclear fuel cycle produces waste in two forms – waste heat and solid waste. In Canada, waste heat has typically been disposed of in either the Great Lakes or the ocean. Solid waste, in the form of highly radioactive fuel bundles, requires more careful treatment.

Each bundle sits in the reactor for 12-18 months. After this, the fuel bundle is removed and stored under water for seven to 10 years while the radioactivity decreases. After, it is put into dry storage in insulated canisters that are stored in underground caverns in perpetuity.

The amount of radiation that escapes the insulated container is less than the amount of radiation a person is subjected to while flying on a plane.

While the waste is dangerous and requires careful disposal due to radioactivity, it is also minimal. Donev says the daily waste managed in the City of Calgary is a greater volume than the entire spent nuclear fuel in Canadian nuclear history.

The chief advantages of nuclear power are that it’s clean, efficient, reliable and plentiful. While there are carbon emissions involved with the mining process, the power generation itself is carbon-free.

A single fuel bundle – about the size of a rolled yoga mat – is enough to fuel a home for a family of four for 200 years.

But there are also disadvantages. It comes at a high upfront cost, it’s slow to get on the grid and it requires highly-paid and specially-trained personnel to keep it running. And, Donev points out, it terrifies people.

“The problem with terror is that terror turns off our thinking. Fear can be healthy. Fear allows us to say I don’t understand and I’m concerned about something. But when we get into terror, we’re just running around like chickens with our heads cut off.”

“I’m hoping that through these conversations, whatever people’s opinions, whether being in favour or not, whether the fears get addressed or not, or at least not coming from a standpoint of terror.”

A third webinar is scheduled for Jan. 16 focused specifically on technical questions about nuclear safety and waste management.